What Happened To My Life?
by Icy Pheonix
Summary: This was really fun to write, and I hope it's just as fun to read.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Yoshihiro Togashi still owns Yu Yu Hakusho. Or since I last checked.

**WARNING: This story is my first fic, so do not expect any miracles in the writing department here. You can flame me if you like, but it's kind of useless to.**

**Chapter 1: The News That Ruined My Life**

"This is a story which comes from the bottom of a single soul. It holds the key to unlocking the tragic events of a young girl, orphaned in the many battles of feudal Japan. Once rich, then impoverished before she could take it in; before she could accept it; before she could believe it. As she struggles for survival, amidst all of the bloodshed of the cruel dark war; she learns...she believes." I finished this excerpt of my mini-novel/essay with a dramatic sigh. The class was looking at me in upmost boredom. One guy who I think was named Yimi, orYusi, is drooling slightly and flirting with a brown haired girl named Keiko next to him.That's the thing - I like my writing, but the rest of the world wants me and my gloomy books to drop dead.

"Good job, Kasumi. Class?" my teacher added rather menacingly. The class gave me an annoyed "Kukiya" or something, which I guess means good work or something, but none of them have much enthusiasm. But, it's not just me. All of the previous essays and their readers received the same bored reply.

"Okay, listen, teacher, you really don't have to make them clap!" I say, highly annoyed. I hate it when people clap only half heartedly. It makes me feel like a tub of dryer lint. That is not a good thing. Would you want to be a tub of dryer lint? If they don't like it, they don't have to pretend they do.

My teacher, Mr. Spanischeli (I call him Spinach-Jelly), glares at me. "Listen, you will not talk to me that way. I will make them clap if I want to, and you have no say in the matter."

I roll my eyes, and reeive another "harsh" scholding from the grand dictatorial vegetable preserve, consisting of "Do not sass me..." and the usual junk. In quiet retaliation, I mutter under my breath about how teachers are dictatorious aliens trying to take over the world. Unfortunately, he hears, and I get the feeling that he is none too impressed.He takes my paper from me roughly so he can grade it, and so, I am told to sit in the corner floor while wearing a fluffy orange dunce hat. Excuse me while I sob. Ugh, this place is way outdated. And it's the first day and I am already off on the wrong foot.

My Japanese teacher always makes us do these weird writing assignments in front of class. I secretly think he is psychotic, to want to listen to our little annoying monologues, each worse than the last. He is under the impression that he, asickly 26 year old, is amazingly intimidating. He is wrong, put it that way. He has no muscle! How can he be the least bit intimidating as such a limp noodle? And the especially sad part is that he thinks that he has me scared. Do I look like the type to cry if I get yelled at by a bigheaded teacher?

If anyone thinks so, I will personally destroy them.

Well, put it this way, _I_ don't think I look weak. I have long straight black hair, green eyes (though I am told they look gold in the night), pale skin, no chest, and a body built like a string. It's not my fault I'm skinny, even though everyone comments on it, and it gets really annoying. They all think I am annorexic, despite what I say. They are disgusted by how much I can eat in one sitting, I mean that very seriously. I just have a _fast_ _metabolism_. Anyone who wants to know, I have a _fast metabolism_.

But as nobody knows what a metabolism isanyway, I'm still doomed to look like a street light (which everyone "can't help noticing").

And yet another thingirritating me for no reasonis that my real name is not even Kasumi. It's actually Katrina, a perfectly normal American name. But these Japanese dudes can't pronounce it. One, the closest, called me Kautlena (because the l and r sounds are one and the same to these people), another swore it was Kafanina, and another said the best one of all - Konnichiwa. As in the Japanese word for hello.Oddly enough, I don't want to be called upon and greeted with the same word, so I am officially Kasumi (Kah-ZOO-mee). As in ZOOM. I'm certainly zooming, although not in the land of butterflies and prancing pink ponies.

I move the orange fringe of the cap out of my eyes, and watch a girl named Miyuko or something stand up and give her report about the Shinsengumi, an elite group of assassins skilled with the sword in batttle. Oh my god, this is gonna be a good one. This little midget can't even talk loud enough for me to hear her.

I zone out slightly. Why did I come here? What in the world could have driven me to join the Jun Ladies Boarding school on the other side of the world?

It must have been temporary insanity, I suppose.

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My mom was washing dishes that fateful day when I heard the news.

"Katrina, do you mind helping?" She says, her left eye twitching uncomfortably.

"Yes." I growl. I was in a really bad mood that day. And I had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen: nothing good. Whenever she asks me to help her with a chore, and her eye is twitching as well, it means that someting is going to happen. Something I usually will not like.

"Thank you, honey," she says sarcastically, angrily motioning for me to get my lazy butt out of the chair and put down my book.

I groan theatrically, stride over, and grab a plate and sponge roughly from her. "Fine, Mother Dearest."

"Glad you think so."

Finally, unable to sustain the silence that the splashing soap cannot fill, "Is something up?" I said, trying to mask my worry. "That is, if I even want to know."

"Yes, how'd you guess?"

I roll my eyes.

"You know how this summer, you won a writing competition on that cute little story about an elf and...?" She motions awkwardly with her hands."And all in Japanese, too?"

"How could I forget?" I muttered, just so she could hear me. I had waited forever, on hard metal seats in the hot outdoors while all the other 13 year olds got their awards, for their pointless stories about animal hierarchies, and "the great force of life." So Lion King. I hated Lion King! Then, as it was my turn, it started to drizzle. Of course, everyone had to leave or they would melt. They weren't entirely wrong. I was ready to melt the commentator who called us up in alphabetical order, who had the distinctive voice of someone who suffers under the impression that they have the ability to talk with their nose.

Anyway, I had to wait another month, first for my mom to mail the report I hadn't had the chance to read aloud, and still more time for my officialaward to come in the mail. Attached to the envelope was a note (paraphrased, since it was so long Ican't remember it word for word):

'Deepest apologies, Katrina Lillian Kon, that this has taken longer than usual to get through to you.' And it was on a plain white card with glittery rabbits. I found that a bit odd of them. Did my story mention rabbits at all?

Also, my complementary PizzaHut coupon had expired. (Well, talk about adding insult to injury! I don't even like PizzaHut)

Oh yeah. Mom has been speaking this whole time.

"---anyway, they really liked your Japanese talent and want to transfer you to Japan where you can take up writing there, and we don't even have to pay! They just think highly of your potential, and they want to be given credit if you should grow up to be a successful author.Your stories have a Japanese feel, not to mention that it was written in Japanese, so the judge wants you to develop your talent over there in the Jun Ladies Boarding School . With your consent, that is. Won't that be fun?"

_No, it would not be fun. It would not be fun. How can you consider this? How would this in any way be fun? And I am **not **a lady._

"Honey...It _is_ just for one school year. It would be such a great learning experience for you, and you wouldn't have to go back next year if you didn't like it..."

_Right. I'll bet. Whatever. Please tell me I am adopted._

"You will deprive yourself of so much, though, if you don't."

_Add some guilt to it, why don't you, damnit!_

"...cultural influences...satisfying..."

_I ain't even gonna pretend I'm listening, you crazy old woman I call my sensible mother!_

"---please?" She had obviously finished a speech that I, as usual, had not paid much attention to. I was beginning to feel guilty, though.

"Ummm...well...I guess, I mean...maybe," I finished awkwardly. I knew I wasn't helping her, but...

"Just think on it , okay?" she said, cleverly not hiding, even pronouncing, her sadness. "Because you know, that's where your dad was born..."

I stopped. Man, she's good. How is it she always gets me to go her way, whether it's with my Japanese heritage or my dead dad or fussing over the neighbor's poodle that got an ear infection? Somehow, she always manages to make me seriously rethink my decision. She must have mind control power.

She never talked about my dad. Ever. I knew it was out of lonliness. She can't bear to think about him, just like I can't stand to see her look so sad. And she knows it. "Uh..."

"Yes?" she replied, sounding depressed.

"I'll go, I guess..." It was almost worth it to see her look so delighted. Yet, her smile was not very reassuring. I smiled genially in return, but inwardly, I groaned. One corner of my brain, the sensible, calm part, was still asking, _What have you gotten yourself into?_

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So that is why I am now stuck in Japanese class for 10 months. My life is ruined - and in all places, a tiny Pacific island.

A/N Please review and I will get as disgustingly happy as Katrina's mom. But just tolet you know, Katrina is not usually this unreasonable, it's just that she was in a bad mood, like I said. And don't be surprised if the other chapter is a lot worse than this one; it just means I haven't edited it yet.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Katrina Kon, for she is merely a fictional character of my imagination. I also don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters either. I only claim onto the storyline.

**Chapter 2: Shizuru**

So, here I am, in my lovely little hat. Once again, I have brought myself back to earth. I may be a Bad Student, at least by Spinach-Jelly's standards, but I am still expected to pay attention. Man, this class bores me, even worse than my American schoolteachers. I guess it's just because the Japanese have quite the weird language, as weird as English grammar, and I'm not used to Japanese grammar. I also know that my mom did not translate the name right. It's only the Jun Boarding school, because why would Yusi or whatever be in a ladies boarding school?

I never wanted to go to a class for Japanese. The only reason I ever felt compelled to learn it was because of my dad. He always tried to speak well of the U.S., but I know he was never really happy there. I was four when he died, so he had to do it a lot for me to remember it.

On a more negative note, the symbols are retarded. Why do we need so many thousands of lines just for one character that means the syllable "th?" How could my dad have preffered Jap school to U.S. schools? It is insane, how much school Japs live through. 180 is bad enough, but 256 days? When is it enough? I really pity these poor brainwashed people.

As you can see, I am NOT in a very good mood. Number 1, the dunce cap is itching the crap out of me, and number 2, I am so through with this class. Just one more frickin' person...one more...then I can die in peace.

"Yukimura Keiko!"

Keiko walks up. I know her from a previous class. She has dark brown hair and eyes, and she was the one Yusi was talking to during my presentation.She is a total brain, and her projects are always flawless, or so I am told. It is so unnerving.

Her project is on the Shinsengumi, same as Miyuko's (was mine the only paper on something else?), only it is much better than Miyuko's. I can see Miyuko glaring at her with a passion.

She catches me staring at her, and she frowns at me. I smile, and then I start to pantomime Keiko. My parody is so ridiculous that she starts laughing out loud. Keiko stops talking about Sagara whoever and glares at us.

I smile, encouraged by Miyuko.

I put on several more annoying antics, including swooning fits, mock-jabbering, and even pointing my finger at Keiko and laughing silently. (I wouldn't normally do this to anyone, but if it means making a friend...as you can see, I'm desperate.)

Keiko goes sliightly red at Miyuko's laughter, finishes her closing pararaph quickly, and hands in her paper. She sits down, still blushing.

Finally, the teacher says the two best words in all of the languages. "Class dismissed."

"YES!" I say, loud enough so other people hear, and look at me funny. I don't care. I'm going to my next class: Math. At least there I like the subject. I maybe in only an average class, but at least I understand it.

In the hall, I don't talk to Miyuko. That was a sort of we-were-both-really-bored-so-we-decided-to-join-forces kind of friendship. Nothing substancial. It was fun, though, although I admit, I feel a little bad about what I did to Keiko. She seems all right, or at least better than what I gave her.

And by some cruel twist of fate, she's coming up behind me.

As I walk down the hall to avoid her and her obvious anger, I bump into a tall girl with light brown hair and eyes. She is followed by some of the most built girls I have ever seen in my life. She and her friends are at least 6 feet tall.

"Sorry." I mutter, and brush past her.

She grabs my arm to stop my hasty escape. "Why did you do that?" She sneers loudly, as if to drive across a point.

"Cause I didn't look where I was going, duh. If you'll excuse me..."

"Forget it. Who do you think you are?"

"Um, a girl who was trying to find the best way around your fat ass."

Her mouth drops open and her hold on my arm increases in pressure. Several people watch, others laugh hysterically at my comment.

I hear someone behind me laugh. It's Keiko. She seemed to have loved my comeback too.

"Let go, you fat freak!"

"Take it back!" She says, her volumeincreasing.The hall has turned to watch. Yusi has stopped his gum mid-bubble, so it looks like he's chewing a sky blue balloon.

"In your dreams, bigass! Let go!"

She growls, lifts me easily still by my arm, and throws me backwards with impressive force. I feel a sinking sensation. Isn't Keiko directly behind me? So shouldn't I...

Hit her.

In a rapid flying moment, I see that it is indeed Keiko. We seem to be falling in slow mo, me in front her. I can feel her hair tickling my ear.

When I hit, it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I catch a blue flash from beneath me. It must be the stars in my eyes. I don't feel smashing bones. It turns out that I have only landed on Keiko's stomach.Only.

I gasp, stand, and help her up. She seems to be stunned, and is massaging her back, but she seems mostly all right.

What really calls me back to Earth is the sound of _Her_ jeering.

And a teacher is arriving on the scene, probably noticed all the noise.

"What is going on here?"

"Um, ah..." _Her_ begins.

"Nothing." I say clearly. The teacher swings around, looks at me, and sizes me up. Finally, she nods and walks back in her room.

I think of something better and safer than rolling _Her_ fat head into the ground. I just insult _Her_ in any way possible, only in Eng instead of Jap. Comments such as ugly, or fat, or an escaped lab experiment fly from my mouth. Well, anyway, _Her_ turns a crimson red. _Her_ can't insult me back because I spoke in English and _Her_ really cannot understand it, though my tone implied that I was not saying extremely kind things. You can't make a comeback if you don't know what the other person said.

So, the best thing _Her_ comes up with is a death glare that would make my mom proud, and _Her_ stalks off. I feel so uplifted...

I try to look Keiko in the eyes and fail. "Well, then, um, are you okay?"

She looks at me angrily. "And you care why?"

I cringe. I deserved that. "Sorry about that, Keiko. I guess I just got carried away. I was pissed at the class, and..." I trail off awkwardly.

She looks at me again, in a searching way, and then she abruptly smiles. "Okay, those were some nice insults. 'Escaped lab experiment,' I should remember that..."

"You really think so? But who was that girl?"

"Her name is Shizuru Kuwabara. She's pretty weird. Just recently she turned really horrible like that. I don't know why..." She doesn't meet my eyes at the las question. But I don't care how she knows what's eating Shizuru and it's none of my business.

But I will make Shizuru go down. Hard.

(After 6th period)

But I haven't seen the last of Shizzy (my evil little nickname for her) just like she hasn't seen the last of me.

This ugly excuse for a girl spreads this rumor that travels like wildfire about me being a crazed slut, and weirdly, everyone believes her. I think they're all too afraid to even think of contradicting her. Now no one wants to go anywhere near me. If that weren't enough, to top it all off she goes and steals all my pencils. I don't know when she did it. I guess when I was talking to Keiko in the hallway she took them out or something. I am finding out pencils are like currency in this school, so I really need a lock for my pencil case soon. Normally, I would have just brushed it off uncaringly, but she seems to be using them, not as writing utensils, but as ammunition to viciously poke me when she gets within 2 feet of me. Other times she merely throws them at me, so walking through the hallway becomes a test of my skills at dodging mini javelins.Put it this way: my skills need work(OUUUCH).

Again, Shizuru _will_ be going down

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I still don't know how I survived my first day here, between pencils and Spinach-Jelly, but I did. Hooray.

But I'm probably being unfair. Not all of the teachers and kids here are bad. Mrs. Yukimura (Keiko's mom) teaches Japanese history and her classes are pretty fun. Then there is Miyoko Fennko, the girl that I mimed for in Japanese class, and she is known simply as Mie. She's pretty shy, and I think I'm her only friend. It is kinda fun talking to her.At least she doesn't believe the rumors. The same goes for Keiko, although she is second to Mie. Keiko and Mie get along about as well as cat and dog, Keiko playing the dog.

Once I tried talking to Mie about revenge on Shizzy, but this girl is a total coward. She would not even hear of revenge on anyone. Looks like I am gonna have to plan my revenge alone. A depressing thought. Back in the States, a girl named Lizzie/Kate Benns (she changed her name depending on her mood) would help me out in my dangerous schemes. I miss the help. She was really fun to talk to and plan revenge with. I guess I won't get the same result with Mie. And I never have the chance to talk to Keiko much. She's always reading or studying like mad. So that's where those grades come from...maybe I should try tudying sometime...

The overall dormitory isn't so bad either. Keiko showed me here a while ago. It is split into two parts, and both have squashy chairs and beds and a few tables. I am with Mie and Keiko directly, just because we got here first and naturally we chose our beds first. In the other room is a flirt named Nabiki Tendo. Nabiki sells out her friends by giving their lovers pictures of them for money. Also in Nabiki's room are Kanerusa and Flomiki (Flo). They are best friends. Kanerusa is tomboyish, as in liking and excellent at all sports, whereasFlo is the biggest ditz you will ever meet, athletically inept and the type that wears makeup to the pool. Don't ask me why they are best friends.

Now, for the bad thing...

Shizzy won't know what hit her. I just have to think of what to hit her with...

A/N To any other reviewers who are confused, I changed this chapter by a lot, so don't think ff did something funny or anything. In the old chapter, Katrina met Mie in the dorm at random and they liked each other and the same with Keiko, and Shizuru only insulted Katrina verbally. Now, you all know I couldn't let that go right?


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own Katrina Kon, or Yu Yu Hakusho characters or storyline. I only claim onto the storyline of this single story.

**Chapter 3: Kurama's Entrance**

Well, much as I hate to admit it, school here is improving steadily. Flomiki has taken a huge interest in my now extinct American life. I enjoy telling her about how I threw up 3 times on the plane there, but not as much as she likes hearing it.

Truth is, all of my friends are weirdoes. They talk like British people, and seem to be fascinated with American culture. As far as Jap culture goes, I am just fascinated by the first syllable of shitaki mushrooms.....

But now, it is night after another day of working my brain to the bone. I can finally just relax. And I haven't seen hide nor hair of Shizuru, so maybe I can just forget about her.

Not likely. I swore I would hunt her to the ends of the earth, and that much I will do.

What is that hissing sound over there? I roll over angrily.

I climb out of bed reluctantly so I can kill whatever-it-is. I can't go to sleep like that. It must be Nabiki and Kanerusa, the two easily loudest of the 6 of us. Having another night party. They always want to talk and party. That's why I feel the least closest to them. I hate talking, and I hate parties (for the most part).

I peer through the tarp that separtes us, but hear nothing, yet that infernal noise is continuing. It must be from outside.

I make a right turn and head for the door, stopping just before I reach it. I hear hissing, but it's recognizably coming from humans. Human girls. Shizuru!

"Are you sure this is the place Kesutu?" She hisses.

"Yes, yes, yes! You've asked ten thousand times!" Says Kesutu exasperatedly.

"Here's the plan. When she comes out in two days, you dump a pail of water on her fat head, then slide her down the stairs. I'll have some others squirt her with toothpaste when she is at the bottom, and then we beat her up. Got it?"

"Sure, but why did we have to meet here?"

"Don't ask. Just...go."

I wait for them to leave, almost ecstatic.

Man, she's even dumber than I thought. The plan is so incredibly impractical that I want to laugh. I never, ever slip, and that's just the beginning of her flaws. My mom always did say I have the balance of a feline. I am going tomurder Shizzy and she'll be begging me to stop being so ruthless!

Although I still have no plan...

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Spinach - Jelly is giving a particularly boring sermon. I feel like I am in church. We can't ever talk, gesture, or show any remote sign of life communication. I think he's many's fave teacher because they all fear him and his detentions. This class has killed lesser men/women. But I'll tough it out...I----will do it-----I won't----give----in....snore

"Kasumi. Kasumi. Kasumi. KASUMI!"

Wow, he's looking at me like I am his next meal. Sweet hatred! "How long have you been calling me?"

"Long enough," he grumbles. "Get your rear in gear, miss! It's time for class 5 now!"

"Crap!" I hiss to myself.

"What was that?"

"Crap. And English word."

"Do not curse in English!"

"It' not a---"

"GO! Out the door! You are already running late!"

I jump and run. Arguing with him is like trying to eat my foot - I get nothing but pain.

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The rest of the daywent by uneventfully (Mostly because I was asleep). Perfect. I have more time to work on project A.S.P.C.A.W. (So it's not my best Acronym, but don't bust me over it!)

**A**

**S**tupid

**P**ain

**C**an't

**A**void

**W**ater

My trap is ingenious, if I do say so myself. First when I open my door in the morning, seemingly ignorant of her plot, I will counter her water attack by simply wearing a poncho. Since this rubber is extra repellent, the water will bounce right back to her and drench her! Simple, yet totally foolproof! I'm going to get the raincoat from Flo. She hates getting caught in the rain so she has several ponchos, and she's such an airhead that she doesn't ask why I need one when I'll be inside all day.

It's positively perfect!

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It is morning.

I have never been more glad to wake up at 6:30, but today I will happily oblige. I can't wait to show her up once and for all. This will show everyone that I don't take crap.

I hear her yapping outside, sounding kinda muffled through the door. It sounds a little like screaming, but Iguess it must be hysterical laughing. I grin evilly to myself and get ready. Then I start singing to myself and walk out the door. I brace myself slightly, in case they changed their minds and are planning to hit me with a bellbar rather than simple water.

Strange. I don't seem to be getting wet. At. All. Did the plans reallychange or something?

"Why..." I start to sputter, and then I hear something to my left. I whirl around, and see a slight form in the shadow. There is shadow because the window casts a pillar of moonlight across this common room, and he is hiding in the shadow that is not touched by the moonlight. I, on the other hand, am standing right in the light, prone to attack. For some reason., there are no artificial lights. Maybe the power is out or something. I squint, and the shape of a strange man, looking about 15 or 16, becomes evident. He finallywalks out of the shadow completely, and into the light, so we are about two feet apart. I note beautiful long red hair, but it's too dark for the eye color, which is obscured by his bangs anyway.I can tell it's a he just because of the figure. If he had a chest, he would have passed for a girl.

"Nice poncho," he remarks politely, in speech that is rounded and he is husky-voiced. "But I took care of your little enemies." He points to a twitching heap of people whom I recognize to be Shizuru and her cronies.

I can only stare at him. He looks so cute, in a deranged sort of way. I am aware of how stupid I look in my raincoat. Does my hair look all right? I pat it nervously, then randomly start asking questions. 'Why are you here? What do you want? Why aren't the lights on? Did you cut the power? If you're here to harrass me---"

The man cocks an eyebrow,but after a second he only shrugs his shoulders. "Well, I suppose I'd be surprised too if someone just appeared in front of my doorway." With a deafening bang, the intercom comes on, and we both jump. I hear something about apower outage and school being cancelled.

"Ummm, I'm gonna be late for school."

"Okay, Katrina..."

_Katrina? How does he know my English name?_

"Look, can you meet me here when school is done? I really have to talk to you."

_This guy looks oddly familiar. His face is even like mine! Same green eyes..._

"What's your name then, Tomato Top?" I rudely inquire.

"Oh, if that's all," the guy laughed. "I'd have thought you'd remember me, but you were really little, so...it's Suuichi. Though I am known to most as Kurama."

_Suuichi? Could he be him? It was a long time ago, though, so maybe he's just acting like him... _I somehow manage to keep my cool. "Okay, Kurama, I can meet you, but it will be in the parking lot around 2 o'clock. Where people can see us. Got it?"

"Sure." Without warning he turns and walks out.

That was odd.

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Nabiki must be out to kill me. She saw me talking with Kurama outside my door, because apparently I woke her when I flung open the tarp to see if she was the onehissing, and she now is spreading the word that I have a really cute red haired boyfriend. To the different rooms, that is. The power has been cut, so school has been postponed for the day, like they said. I am a pinky flick away from strangling Nabiki. Every now and then, she'll say that she forgot a room, and she runs out to tell that room's residents. Mie, Keiko, and Kanerusa don't care too much (or maybe they just feel sorry for me) but Flomiki is now teasing me.

"Soooooooooo," she begins, grinning from ear to ear. "When didja meet 'im?"

"Yesterday, actually."

"Reeeeeeeaaaaaalllllly," she grins so wide she will surely split her face, which I would not be too against at this point. At least it would make her shut up.

"YES. He said he wanted to TALK to me. And we are NOT discussing this further, Flo. OKAY WITH YOU?"

"Oh my god, all right already. You don't have to take it personally, or anything, jeez." She gets her classic sullen look.

"Flo, I am going to be up to my neck in teasing tomorrow, and I don't need one of my best friends joining in."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. But who is he to you?"

"A stranger. Not kidding. Really," I add menacingly, and she stops grinning."He says I should remember him, so that means he definitely wasn't a boyfriend. My first and only boyfriend was in second grade, and he moved to Buffalo-"

"He moved to a cow?"

I glare at her. "I'll ignore that, you idiot. And this guy was freakin' CUTE, a lot better looking then him! Anyway, an ancient ex wouldn't try to seek me out again."

"Well, you just tell me the results whenever you want," replied Flomiki. "I won't butt in and be a jerk, I promise. And speaking of jerks, how's things with you and Shizzy?"

"Oh that," I could hardly contain my excitement. "She's presumably terrified of me because my red-headed guardian angel beat her up when she saw him accidentally, waiting outside my door to try and soak me."

Flomiki is incredulous. "That's sooooooooooooo coooooooool! There was this one bully in my old school who......."

As I listen, I realize I'm only glad for a change of subject.

But afer a while, I get bored, make an excuse to go to a bathroom nearby, and leave the room. Then, feeling my way around, I make my way out to the parking lot. It must be around two by now.

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I am just waiting in the parking lot, praying that Nabiki isn't spying on me. He is way late, and teh rain is running down my collar onto my back. At least that poncho Flo gave me came in useful at least once.Just as I am about to give up and go inside, he appears around the other end of the school speed-walking. "Sorry," he pants. "I was in the other parking lot..."

"Whatever. I have a question, and you'd better answer. Why did you choose the name of my brother?"

He grows more solemn.

"Well?"

"Yes. Where do I start... Well, okay, here's what happened. Just keep an open mind, this is going to be hard to believe.You know our father, Tatewaki Kon?"

_Wait a sec---OUR?!_

"Our? Did I hear correctly? Our?"

"Yeah, see, this was why you need to kepp an open mind.I'm your older brother. And a demon."

A/N Well, there you have it. What more can I say? Review!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't own Katrina Kon, or YYH storyline and characters. I only claim onto this storyline.

I got so many reviewers, that I can't respond to them all. I will do one though:

**Chapter 4: My Demon Brother's Connection with a Pizza-Girl Wannabe**

I can only stare at him. "Right, _Suuichi_."

"No, really," he replies anxiously. "I am Suuichi Kon, at least in human form. You know, your last name. Your brother."

This is getting too weird. "I know my last name, thank you very much anyway. How do I know you're not just some psycho stalker who wants me to think he's related to me? My brother has been gone for years, and I find it weird that he all of a sudden wants to seek me out again."

"Well, no one's telling you or forcing you to believe it. I am a demon and I am not kidding---"

"And what's with the human form only jig?" I say, rambling on interrupting and not paying attention as usual. "You're gonna have to give me some identification, pal."

"I don't know about identification, but I can start from the beginning. I was not always a human. In my demon form, I was a silver, nine tailed fox, one of the most feared theives in all of the land, that is to say, the Spirit World. I grew fascinated with undoing locks, and that was how I got into the whole dishonest business. One day, I robbed a farmer and he came after me with a rifle. As I grew tired he came within shooting range and blasted my leg. So I took my wounded spirit and fled to the human world. I inhabited a pregnant human woman's fetus, and so I was born. Unfortunately, I am unable to return to my previous state because I am chained in this body through the ritual of birth. Luckily, I was soon to realize that my father was a demon too. I was able to overcome my difficulties with him around, until I was well enough to raise myself. I left for the Spirit World when I was 5, and when you were 4."

Something inside of me was breaking as I heard his words. If he was lying, he was putting on a darn good act. I mean, one part of me was saying that this cannot be true. No way. But a more irrational part was asking many what-ifs. Anyway, the sensible part won. "I still don't know if you're telling the truth, okay? How am I supposed to believe any of this stuff? Suuichi was my best friend, but my mother said you were kidnapped. There's no way of knowing if you are the same guy. That's all I'm going to say on this matter."

"If you're so sure I'm not, ask me some questions. Even you have to remember confiding in me. We were really good friends."

"That works. All right..." I scanned my memory. "Okay, here's one. What's my birthmark?"

"A pinkish freckle on the back of your head."

Not bad. "Here's another. What was my first platypus's name?" (Yes, I kept platypuses as pets for a long, long time).

"Gigi. You told me all about her and what she liked, and how smart and pretty and talented she was" he responded promptly. "I knew that platypus better than you."

This is too weird. "Last one. Hmmmmmmmmmm...What was...What was the address of my first house?"

"28 16th Street. I lived there, so I should know."

Now he's really starting to scare me. Is he really my brother? "What do you want from me?" I suddenly realize I'm trembling. This guy's leaf-green gaze is penetrating right through me.

"Well, I just wanted to say I need your help. There is getting to be real danger in the Spirit World. I need someone to help me out with all the demon trash that has infiltrated the vulnerable parts of the Spirit World. Our father used to help out with those things, you know. My name was cleared, you know, in reference to being a thief, and I was not sent to prison on account of the fact that I helped to apprehend many criminals much more notorious than I. I was a kind of cop along with my teamates, named Kazuma Kuwabara, Yusuke Urameshi,-"

Urameshi? Wasn't he that Yusi kid...nah.

"-Hiei, Genkai, and of course my father, Tatewaki Kon. I can't imagine why she told you I was kidnapped. I left of my own free will," he paused.

"We were doing well as a group for a long while until an incredibly powerful demon basically kicked all of our butts. It is thought to be a bio weapon created by the Demon World to crush the Spirit World. Not even my father could defeat it, so that automatically means we are in real trouble," he paused for air. "It decided to capture my father. You're the only one left that has even the slightest chance of defeating it and rescuing him. You father's blood exists in you today."

"What sort of demon was my father?"

"Our father was a panther. Did you ever wonder why you can do things no one else can? Think on it...what strange things have you been able to do?"

He strode off. "I'll tell you more in detail about this danger. Tomorrow, same place, same time."

Ironically, he had left me with dozens more questions instead of answering any.

The school day flew by the fastest it ever had before, even Spinack-Jelly's class. All I could concentrate on was trying to sort out everything Kurama told me; trying to find a reasonable explanation for it all. But deep down, I knew I had nothing more to go on than Kurama's story. It was true; he knew so much about me that he had to be related somehow. I couldn't feel anything probing my mind, so I know he isn't psychic. I just am not ready to accept it at this point.

I have thought on it, and have done some pretty strange things over the couse of my pitiful life. Likewhen Shizuru threw me into Keiko. I caught a blue flash from beneath me, right? it wa right before Keikohit it had been my desire not to hurt Keiko that unleashed my power and cushioned us both?

I have only told Mie (leaving out the demon parts, of course) about this whole incident, and she thinks I am super brave. I don't.

Anyway...Nabiki, fortunately, has given up on my nonexistent love life and is now telling everybody how some unfortunate soul (Flomiki) is secretly meeting some dude from China. And we are currently having a sleepover in my dorm, which no one asked me about to begin with. Nabiki, Kanerusa, and Flomiki just decided to.They just assumed I, Mie, and Keikowouldn't mind. So now, my poor room is in shreds.

"Flomiki! What was that for?" She has just given me a good whack with her pillow. My pillow. Kanerusa, Nabiki, Keiko, and some new girl named Akane are having a discussion of who is the cutest boy in school. Here is a catch of this "interesting" conversation "Shizuki is definitely the one---WHAT ARE YOU KIDDING! DAISUKE IS---C'mon guys, you know it's Yuu----HOW CAN YOU LEAVE KANUME OUT?!..." Personally, the cutest boy in school can die...that's how much I care. Mie is also rolling her eyes, which always is a bad sign. The truth is, Mie acts shy, but underneath it all, she is a deadly amazon warrior girl. You never, ever, ever want to get her angry. I used to think I got angry before I met her. I was wrong.

It is a madhouse in here. Flomiki is as good as a serial killer with that pillow, and Mie is ready to explode. Just when I am gonna scream---

_Thud thud thud thud._ Someone is knocking hard on the door. Everyone is frozen with fear. Apparently, that scary story about Frankenstein they just told each other has turned on them. Mie just rolls her eyes again and swiftly opens the door. Everyone stares apprehensively at the door frame. Ironically, there stands a short, fat, squat pizza girl, grinning broadly. The sight is almost as scary as the monster everyone was expecting. She has many freckles, and more than her share of acne. She also looks as though invisible strings are holding the corners of her mouth up. She is bright red and looks ready to die. She stares around at each of us in turn, as though wondering why everyone was there. Then she looks at me, and I sense something evil behind that face.

_A 3-eyed crow cawwed in the distance and took flight, diving towards a fox..._

As suddenly as it had come the vision was gone. I stared at her warily.

"Hello, everyone! You were picked for a special midnight pizza delivery in a drawing occuring this night. Please accept your prize!" she holds out the box way too genially. You'd really have to be an idiot not to see that something was up.

"What's wrong?" Flomiki asked. That was all she asked, yet the girl grows even redder. If that's even possible, at this point.

"N-nothing. NOTHING AT ALL! Hehahahehehahaehaehhea. My name is Beauty," she tells us, with an oddly hungry glint in her eye. "Umm...well...since you asked what was wrong...which nothing is!...none of you would know a man known as either Suuichi Kon or Kurama, now would you?" she pauses, and the hungry glint increases dramatically. "Please tell me, children. I really must know!"

The others glance at me for a second. Flomiki notices something. "Hey, Kasumi, isn't that your last name?"

Fortunately, I am a pro liar. "Well, Kon is a fairly common name," I said convincingly. "I never knew this Kurama through my childhood at all." This isn't even a lie. I didn't know him throughout my childhood. I only know him now. I just hope she doesn't pick up on it.

"Oh, all right. But you can always find me at Okonomiyaki Palace if you see anything of this guy!" (OkonomiyakiJapanese Pizza)

Without warning, she runs out the door. She semed pretty keen on leaving the whole time. To break the awful silence, Kanerusa jokes "Well, she certainly didn't fit her namesake! 'Beauty' my butt!"

There is some rather shaky laughter, and gradually the girls start talking again. I excuse myself to bed. But one part of my brain was wondering:

A) Why she wanted Kurama so badly, and

B) Why she didn't have an Okonomiyaki Palace uniform.

C) She also couldn't have known I was having a sleepover. She did seem surprised to see everyone in my dorm. She wanted to talk to _me._

D) Why I saw such a mutated crow trying to kill a fox in that vision.

I'll ask Kurama tomorrow, I think, yawning. But I don't go to sleep for a long, long time.

A/N Review!


	5. Chapter 5

Discalimer: Don't own Katrina Kon, or YYH story and characters. I only claim onto this current storyline.

Thank you, for reviewing, smiles4100. Truth is, I have another story planned that is a lot along the lines of your review, so I don't want to use the same idea twice. And think about it, why would her boyfriend be her brother? But don't get down yet, (I sound so stupid) there might be romance in this yet, I just need to work it in somehow, okay?

****

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**Chapter 5: Warning - Panther Demon on the Loose! Do Not Feed!**

Well, once again, I'm waiting in the parking lot. Once again, he's late. Probably got lost. He has the worst sense of direction...

I am losing track of time. I feel like I have waited here for hours. I mean that seriously.

"Kurama, you imbecile! I WANT MY QUESTIONS ANSWERED!" I yell pointlessly into the morning, not expecting anything.

To my great surprise, he actually runs from the other side of the building. Yep. He was lost.

"Sorry about that. I---"

"---got lost," I say, synchronizing my voice with his. "Again. You're a fox demon and you get lost." I shake my head. "Okay, I've got some real news for you---"

"---and I have some too. But you can go first."

I take a deep breath, and tell him all about last night's events. "Also, she said she worked at the Okonomiyaki Palace and she was delivering for them, but she had no Okonomiyaki Palace uniform! And she seemed to know that I knew you. She wanted you badly---"

"Her name was Beauty?"

"Yeah, would you know her?"

He actually shudders. "She has been stalking me for I don't know how long. She is a crow demon, which only allows her the ability to fly. It's a very weak, _ugly_ demon form, and _Beauty_ has never been satisfied with that. She knows that I am a powerful fox demon, and seeks that power."

_So that's whyI got that vision, _I realize_. Beauty, the crow, wants to kill him, the fox, for his power!_

"Apparently, she created an energy-leeching machine. While there are plenty more vulnerable demons that she could suck energy out of, she wants me. I don't know why. It could be that she knew our father, who was the best demon of his time---"

"---Kurama, there is something I need to ask you now. About Dad."

He looks a bit miffed at being interrupted, but quickly recovers. "What about 'im?"

"Why..." This is so hard. "Why did I never know my father?" I'm surprised to realize that I am almost ready to cry.

He looks away, as if embarrassed.

"Why?" I persist, stronger this time. "Who cares about that _pizza-chica muy fea_ wannabe. I need to know now. It's been killing me."

"Okay, I wasn't going to bring this up, but..." he pauses.

"BUT?!" Now who's getting miffed?

"ALL RIGHT! Your father left. He wanted a life...a different life. He couldn't stand being tied down, so he left with me. Even when my human body was 5 years old, he knew I was special, and not who I seemed. So he went to the Spirit World, and became a great detective to _save_ the Spirit World and Human World. I was his partner. Then he was captured, and I had to seek out the only one who could ever match his power."

"Me." I couldn't believe it. My dad had abandoned me and my mom, taken our son/brother, and what did he trade it for? A life of exhilaration. Rage is pounding via the blood in my skull, flooding me with every bit of hatred my body can withhold.

"Yes. You," is all he says.

I force myself to speak calmly. "S-so, my mom and me weren't enough, huh?"

I see, with grim satisfaction, that I have never seen Kurama look scared. Until now.

"No, it wasn't that, Katrina. It was---"

"---and he expects me to help him?"

"No.....please just let me explain...there were other reasons too---"

"---he.....abandoned.....me....." Now I know what a heart-break feels like.

"Wait..."

"I WON'T WAIT!" I scream. "HE LEFT THIS ENORMOUS HOLE IN MY LIFE AND MY MOM'S LIFE AND I WANT IT BACK! HE HAD NO RIGHT TO LEAVE ME HERE, TO THROW ME AWAY! HE BETRAYED MY MOM AND ME! I'VE SEEN HER CRYING AT NIGHT---" I stop. Something is happening to my body. My fingernails are lengthening and turning into curved claws. Black hair is sprouting like grass all over my body. I can feel my teeth growing. I feel as though something that I have kept bottled up inside of me, some emotion, has been released. Primitive emotions are corrupting my train of thought...

A terrible snarl escapes me. I am rapidly losing control of my brain and free will. I am drowning in an evil, insane, irrational joy. I'm not happy, but I am. Vaguely, I see Kurama looking thunderstruck. "Impossible," he whispers. Everything goes dark.

"Oh my god." somebody whispers.

"She's stirring."

"Thought she was a goner for sure."

I painfully open my eyes. The effort is incredible. "Flomizi-miki.....Mie.....Ka-Kaner...? Wha...am in the .....hospitamittle.....wig?"

"What are you trying to say, Kasumi? You're talking nonsense."

I really concentrate. "Why am I in the h-hospital wing?"

"Oh," says Flomiki. "That cute red-haired guy from before brought you in. He told us he found you

like that. You..." Her face screws up. "You looked like you'd been through a war. Your clothes were ripped, and you were bruised everywhere. Can you remember what happened? Was it that darn Shizuru again? If she did all that, I swear I'll get her..."

"Not Shizuru..." I say thickly. "It was---" I cover my mouth with my hands. And just in time. "I don't remember." I had to lie. None of them would believe me if they knew I thought I had taken the form of a panther demon. They'd only think I was losing my mind, which I really wonder about myself as it is.

A bell rings distantly. They look at me worriedly, concernedly. "We have to get to class," Mie says. "We'll come back and see you again, okay?"

"Sure..." They leave me, and I stew in my thoughts. There was no other explanation. Kurama was telling the truth. I had become the panther that I am inside, that I got from my father. _Father? _A nasty part of my angry brain hisses. _You have no father._

It wasn't long after that when my brother-Kurama-came in. He had a look somewhat between wonder and fear on his face when he looked at me. I notice he has bloody slash marks on his hands.

I get right down to the point. "No messing around, Kurama, no beating around the bush. I want to know what happened out there and I want to know now."

"Just promise you won't interrupt."

I nod my head eagerly.

"All right then. Here is the story. During your....." he checked to see that no one was listening, "panther transformation.....we both learned things that we didn't know. You found out that I was not joking around with my story, and I found out that you, a half-demon, are actually more powerful than your father. Rage is at the bottom of every demonic transformation, and you were angry enough to fuel that shape. I am going to tell you in detail of why your father abandoned you and his other family in pursuit of adventure and.....other aspects. Do you understand?"

Again, I nod quickly. "Why am I all bruised and banged up though?"

Kurama looks sheepish. "Weeeelllll, I kinda had to stop you from hurting someone, so I kinda...heheh....knocked you out. It wasn't easy, bringing down a full grown, very pissed panther. Sorry, but you just refused to faint. But once you did, you turned back into a girl. Sorry..."

I shrugg. "Well, I guess that's fine. Wait...did I do _that?_" I indicate his scratches.

"Yes, that was most certainly you. You were a hard one to tackle."

"Sorrrrrry...I'm just glad you managed to take me out. It's better me banged up then a panther attack in Japan listed front page in the newspaper. How would we explain that? Everyone would have found out..." I notice him laughing. "What, if I may ask, is SO FUNNY?!"

He laughs some more. "It's nothing, just that you have a very funny way of looking at things, you know that? Not many 14 year old girls will see the silver lining in these situations."

I roll my eyes. "ON WITH THE STORY!"

"Oh, heheheh, right. Here it is, all out in the open. Basically, a few months preceding the time that my father and I left you and my mother, the Spirit World had been corrupted with demons. These demons posed not only a threat to the Spirit World, but indirectly to the human world as well. For if the Spirit World falls, dead souls will have nowhere to go and they will haunt the Earth..." he took a deep breath, "and slowly destroy it. This was something your father could not ignore, avoid, or overlook. A no-way-out type of situation. It was either stay with his family, or save the world. He was the only one with the power to do so. He took the selfless route, and decided to lose all contact with his human family. He figured it wouldn't raise such awkward questions if she, that is to say our mom, didn't know where he had gone. In retrospect, he should have told her who he was---"

"Hold it. Sorry for interrupting," I say worriedly, noticing his look, "but are you telling me that my mom didn't know she married a powerful demon?"

"That's correct. Your father loved your mother dearly, and he was terrified she would desert him if she knew the truth."

"My father, the master of all cats, the Superman of the Spirit World, the incredibly powerful demon, afraid of losing his _wife_?" I say dryly.

"I do not lie. She was everything to him---"

"---hold up...again. Why didn't he take me with him? He should have known I inherited all that strength. Why did he just leave me?"

"Nothing against you, sis, but half-demons often are very limited in power. They are constricted in their human bodies...usually anyway, like me. I'm stuck in this body. Today, you have disproved that theory hugely. There is no way he could have known. I---" I noticed a small hint of jealousy. "I'm a full demon, and I can't get my true demonic form back no matter how angry I get. But there was another reason for his leaving you behind as well. He wanted to leave you for your mother. He didn't want to hurt your mother any more than he had to, so he left you to keep her company. Now do you see that he loved her more than anything?"

I ignore that. "But, Mom told me my father died when I was old enough to know. Why?"

"Katrina, think about this," Kurama said. "How many mothers want their children to know that their father deserted them? Seriously."

"Oh." My crazy rage was vanishing, but my confusion remained.

"I can show you how to fight it, you know."

"Nah, I'll be fine." I suddenly remembered something. "What was the news you were going to tell me? We got really carried away on my part."

"Oh, nothing much. I just received a letter from one of my dad's messengers, and it basically says that they are all right. Here....." He rummaged through his cloak, and pulled out a wrinkled envelope with the most tidy scrawl I had seen. "You can keep it, if you want."

I open it with shaking fingers. _My father wrote this_, was all I could think.

_Dear Suuichi,_

_I hope this letter finds you in good health. My captives treat us surprisingly well, almost as though they are afraid of what I will do to them if they are unkind:) I am kept chained, and my fingers are impaired, and so I cannot use them. The chains are getting mighty stuffy, so I can't say I am happy, but am well for the time being I hope you found Katrina all right._

_Sincerely,_

_Dad_

"Thank you for showing this to me, Kurama, I appreciate it. But, what are all of the stars for?"

"That signals a code word. Chains mean binds that will not let him excercise his powers, and fingers mean powers. Stuffy means he has tried to break out but can't, so he needs my help. Our help."

At this point, I am still angry at my father. But, I can understand why he needed to leave. I just think he could have left in a better fashion. But, I am more relaxed.

Afterwards, we just talk about normal things, like what is our favorite stuff and different bullies and adventures. We cover everything this night. He said he was 15 in human form, but over 200 as a yoko. (a demon) I remember that well. I am really disappointed when the nurse shoos him out for the night. It is also the first time I really think about him as a brother. I like the feeling.

_Maybe having a demon brother won't be so bad._ I think, and drift off to sleep. The threat of Beauty has been completely wiped from my mind.

A/N Okay, tell me how you liked it! Yes Cassie, I am talking to you! I included how the dad deserted them and all that stuff you told me about! Blablablablablablablabla.....Oh, I almost forgot.....REVIEW!!!!!!

(P.S. Pizza-Chica muy fea means, in Spanish, very ugly Pizza Girl:)


	6. Chapter 6

Discalimer: Bear with me. I don't own YYH characters or storyline, and Katrina Kon is only a fictional character. I only claim onto this storyline.

**Chapter 6: Goodbye Mrs. Yukimura, Hello Homicidal Substitute**

It has been exactly a week since the time that I mistakenly became a panther, and now I'm perfectly healthy again. Even the nurse said I healed phenomenally well. The truth of the matter was that Kurama used some of his healing power (he's good with herbs), so on the bright side I won't be scarred for life. Kurama has become a best friend to me in a relatively short amount of time. I just feel like I can trust him about anything at all. Also, he is the only one I can trust to believe me about my transformation problem, so I think that was what really brought us closer.

As I am daydreaming about what other questions I will ask when we meet at the end of school, Mrs. Yukimura calls on me, to check to see if I am paying attention.

"Kasumi, what news was I telling you about just now?" Of course I can only shake my head in an I-don't-know way. Why does she always feel the need to ask a question when she knows I'm not paying attention? It must be the humiliation factor.

It wouldn't be the first time she caught me. Far from it. How is it that she always calls on me when I am in my own world, and never when I truly am paying attention? Maybe she's a demon. Maybe working in the Yukimura bakery got to be too boring for her, so she decided to become a teacher to harrass students to the best of her ability. At least that's my theory, so what do I know?

"Kasumi," she says, almost boredly, "I would like to see you after class."

Kanerusa gives me an apologetic look. Somehow, this makes me angry. Why should she feel sorry for me? I need no one to pity me, and god, she should know that. I feel a joy at getting angry...just like...that time.....

_Fight it, _I tell myself forcefully_. Don't give in! Then all you did will be for naught. You'll be put in a freaking zoo! _

I am going insane. I get angry or annoyed at everything now. I have to force myself not to become that horrible panther. It seems that as soon as that panther breathed fresh air, it is desperate to get out. It takes an amazing amount of self-control to supress it though. I can't become it, (though it would mean I wouldn't be tired all of the time) otherwise someone in my classroom is not going to live to a ripe old age. _Maybe Kurama will be able to help me sort this out,_ I think, trying in vain to get rid of my splitting headache, which always occurs when I refuse transformation.

Mrs. Yukimura is talking again. "Well, if our Kasumi had been paying attention, she would have welcomed the new substitute teacher. I will be leaving to watch over the bakery for a while, because my husband has the flu. I should be gone about a month, all right? Kids, all of you can say hello now."

I look up from my textbook. I go pale. It's her! That deranged pizza girl who really is a crow demon who is out to get Kurama and probably me too who is really ugly and stupid and--- I stop myself. I am getting nowhere by hyperventilating. But god, she looks a lot a lot older than Mrs. Yukimura.

A terrifying thought strikes me. I am not terrified easily. She must be here to spy on me. There is no other reason that a crow demon would want to teach school. A second, more horrible thought strikes me. _What if she knows I'm a demon too?_

This class could not have been worse. Miss Feather, as Beauty calls herself, has us all in her iron grip of terror. She obviously has no knowledge of Japanese history, which only confirms my suspicions. Mrs. Yukimura has not forgotten that she wanted to see me after class, so she passed it on to the Featherbrain. She has this huge smile pasted on her toad-ish face as she approaches me. Glad _she's_ happy about it.

She grabs my arm roughly, and tugs me out the door in to the hall, while everyone else files silently as mice. I am so jealous.

"Tell me where Kurama resides, girl, tell me!" She says in what she thinks is a ferocious voice. I'm as afraid of her as I am of newborn kittens.

I play it dumb. "Who?"

"You know damn well who I mean, girl. Tell me!"

"Okay, you know what," I say, my temper getting out of control, "Stop stalking me! I know you are, so don't deny it. First the Pizza girl, now this. Why are you so obsessed with this guy named Kurama, anyway? I don't know who you mean, okay, so stop badgering me about it!"

"Fine," she snapps. "You escaped this time too. But I will nail you! Don't think that if I catch you in another sleepover I'll let you slip through again! I know you know why I need his power, girl, so you'd better remember that, when it becomes mine, you are first on my list!" She made a knife across throat line with her fat left hand.

"You are dismissed." She turns on her heel and leaves, pouting like a young child.

As I watch her leave, an icy fear creeps through me. _She meant it._

"Kurama. Kurama. KURAMA!!" He appears in front of me jumping down from the school roof.

I stare at him. "You got lost on the roof?!" He's pathetic. He really is.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry!" He laughs. "I'm quite sad, huh? What's up?"

I take a deep breath. "This is no tea party, Kurama. NO joke. Beauty, the new _pretend_ substitute teacher/pizza girl, is planning to kill me."

A/N Mwahahahahahahahahahahah! Who should Beauty knock off first? Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahah

ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah! Ha!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Don't own Katrina Kon, or YYH characters and stpryline. I only claim onto this storyline.

Chapter 7: The Communication Mirrors 

"Why? How do you know she wants you dead?"

"Is that a trick question? I don't know why, all right?" I say in an annoyed voice. This would be obvious to everyone but him. Jeez.

"What did she say to you?"

"She said she wanted you and told me to quit playing dumb. That I know why she wants you. She knows we're connected, Kurama. There is just no other way. I don't know how she discovered that tasty little tidbit of information, but we're in trouble. I saw that look in her eyes when she threatened me, Kurama. She won't give up easily."

Kurama has that dead, glazed look on his face that shows when he's thinking harder than usual. I'm thinking too. For once.

"You know what, Kurama?"

"What? Found the answer already?"

"No, nothing like that. But exactly how are you and I related? I mean, from what I've studied of genetics, and I got A's in science, a panther and a human cannot have a fox. So how'd you come to be my full brother?"

Kurama's POV:

Damn, she's quick. If she knew...if she puts it all together...because...if she got A's in science, then she'll know that it _is_ impossible...

_Come on brain, make up a lie, make up a lie, QUICK!_

Back to Katrina's POV:

I watch him and suddenly get the impression that he is doing some fast thinking.

"Oh, uh, well, I am not really sure why I am full fox. You'd think I'd be at least half human, and also half panther instead of full fox."

He's lying. His eyes tell all. But, better let it go. For now, at least. He's pretty honest, so he'll tell me later. But maybe I can weasel it out of him.

"Oh, sorry," I say conversationally. "I just thought you may have had a fox mother, so that's what gave you your abilities. So that was what made us half brother and sister. And maybe your spirit entering her childkind of, _influenced,_ the genetics in favor of her fox DNA instead of the 1/2 panther, 1/2 fox that you should have been."

Kurama enhales sharply. I have him. But then he smiles...what?

"No, that's not right. I was just sort of born freakishly. It can happen, you know. Just like in quantum physics, very rarely, a human can walk through a wall. The same goes for genetics."

OK, now I know he's definitely not lying. He gave me direct eye contact, and he made no nervous actions. But he didreally look worried there for a second.Strange. And what's with the physics thing, anyway? But maybe he just is leaving out some of the truth.

"Well, what do I do with our more immediate problem?" I questioned.

"Oh yeah..." A glazed look enters his eyes again. "Well, here, I can give you this." He takes something from his pocket and holds out a small mirror edged with green metal in his hand.

"What is it?" I take it. Not even he, dense as he is, can miss the disappointment in my voice. I've never seen any less exciting object in my life.

"It's a common tool of the Spirit World, called a Communication Mirror. It can also be abbreviated as a Commir. I have one just like it. One way that it works is that you hold it up like so," he pulled out a look-alike mirror and held it up in front of his face. I imitate him. "Then you just speak into the Mirror and say the name of the person that you are trying to connect to. Katrina." He said very loudly and clearly. To my surprise, an image of myself wells up in the mirror. "Unfortunately, it only works if the other person is looking into their end of the line, so I've figured out a way to fix that issue. You see the green lining?"

I nod. "It looks like it was recently added on."

"Yeah, it was. The lining acts like a telephone signal. It glows whenever someone is trying to reach you. It also heats up slightly, so you'll be able to feel it in your pocket, or wherever you keep it.YOU MUST, I repeat, YOU MUST carry this with you at all times. IfBeauty tries to attack you, at least you can tell me and there is a small...What?"

"A problem has occured to me already, Kurama. Won't she wonder why I am talking to my "reflection" all of the time? She might confiscate it, because she certainly has the right in this damned school. Also, if she attacks me, then will I really have the time to talk to you through my mirror?"

"I was getting to that, Katrina. Before you interrupted. As I was saying, there is a small button on the bottom of the mirror, see? You can press this button whenever you want, and it still will alert me when you are in trouble. The only difference is that my mirror's edgewill glow red. Here is the code: Press the button when you are in danger, and I will get myself or one of my buddies to help protect you. Speak into the mirror itself when you only want questions answered, or to talk about anything. It would be better to talk to the mirror when you are alone, because you'll lose popularity if people believe you talk to yourself. You can't tell anyone"

"Who'd believe me if I did try to tell them?" I ask dryly.

55555555555

A/N How soon shouldthis whole thing happen? Hmmmm...thinking is not what I do best. So help me! Please! Also, that quantum physics fact can happen, but you'd have to walk into a wall for almost an eternity to even have a 1 percent chance of it happening. The same is with genetics. That part of my story is true! Hahahahah! but, put it this way, Kurama was not a rare genetic happening. It's genetically probable. What could he be?


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH characters, storyline, or Katrina Kon. Only the storyline is mine.

Chapter 8: The Anti-Beauty Club 

Featherbrain has not forgotten about our last meeting. She keeps shooting me death glares, as if wondering why I am not frightened. Believe me, the only thing that scares me about her is her _face._

History is driving me crazy. By now, even the slowest dimwits of the class are noticing that she is not a history teacher. I miss Mrs. Yukimura! I also wonder how Mrs. Yukimura was bought into picking her. I mean, she's no retard, and so she had to see that Featherbrain was not qualified for history teaching.

What's also weird is that she isn't picking on me today. She seems too bored to even remember that she hates me.

"Okay," she says, in that simperingly weird voice. "Today, we will learn about the 3rd Civil War of Japan. So turn to page...page...well..." She looks around at us. "Well, find it! I trust you can all do that!"

I'm ready for some fun. "Excuse me, Miss Feather," I say sweetly and politely.

"Yes, Miss Kon?"

"Well, the entire first half of the book is on the 3rd Civil War of Japan. Might we start there today?" The whole class guffaws noisily. All of us love and relish the chance to embarrass the Featherbrain.

The corners of her mouth twitch. "Oh, well, thank you, my _dear,_" she says sarcastically. She knows she can't nail me yet, and so do I. "Turn to the first page," she snapps at us. "No dillydallying!"

I grin slyly. This is fun! "Miss Feather! Miss Feather! I have a question!"

"What will it be, then?"

"Why did you say yesterday we would have a quiz on the beginnings of the _First_ Civil War of Japan? Has the schedule changed?" Oh yes. Mwahahahaha. She's turning purple.

"Miss Kon, of course the plans have changed! Use your head, girl!"

"Oh, I'm _sorry, ma'am."_

She threw me a look that plainly said 'You will be.' "One more smart word out of you and you will find yourself in detention, young _lady."_

By this time, the class has abandoned their reading assignment and are watching the match between me and the Featherbrain. All are looking at me with admiration.

"Miss Feather! Miss Feather!"

"What?!"

"How long you been teaching?"

"Uh...ummmm.....about 6 years."

"At this school?"

"Yes."

"Then why were you working for midnight delivery in a crappy pizza place?" Flomiki, Akane, and all the others stuff their fists in their mouths at this joke.

"THAT'S IT! OUT IN THE HALL!"

As I walk out, I turn around and wink at my classmates, a wink that says: _Cause as much mayhem as you can!_

They all wink back to show they understand and slip sly smiles to each other.

You may wonder why I am doing this. I mean, I'm usually not a bad kid or a class clown. The truth is, I'm a leader in a revolt against the fat featherbrain. This status is giving me some healthy popularity, too. My close four friends helped spread the word. I lead Beauty outside somehow, usually by being bad, at the end of the period. Then the rest of class wreaks havoc inside her room. By the time she runs back in to stop them, everyone runs out the door because of the bell for period 8, and she has to clean up the room all by herself. Then I'm free to go, because she dismissed me when she runs back in to stop the other kids. It's a school rule that if a teacher leaves a student in a detention room alone, they are not being disciplined, so they are free to go. She also can't tell anybody because she has no teacher friends in this school. It's not only the students that think she's a hostile space amphibian. It's a major lose-lose situation for her! And I founded it. I am so proud of myself!

That's what happened today, too. Fourth week straight. She leads me out into the hall as usual, and then runs back in like lightning. Her hand brushes the pocket where my Mirror is. She is only to find all of the kids are sitting in their seats, perfect little angels. She looks confused, and so she dismisses them. Just as they are at the door, they yell "CHARGE!" and immediately start beating up the classroom. Now she's really quite mad for getting tricked. And she just realized she dismissed me!

I've never seen such smoke come out of anyone's- demon or not- ears before. Or anyone get so purple before in my life.

My purpose is fulfilled. Now I can die happy.

It is now night. I examine the Mirror more closely. I'm pretty sure everyone is asleep, so I use it. "Kurama," I whisper. An image of him materializes but it looks hazy, like my Mirror isn't working properly. "Kurama, Kurama," Why isn't he looking into his end? And why am I getting a fuzzy beeping? He promised me he would wear it, but he's not. The jerk! What if I had needed to call for help? I stuff the Mirror angrily under my mattress, and glare at my ceiling.

And after he went to all the trouble to tell _me_ to wear it.

I glare, in spite of my exhaustion, as Kurama goes to meet me in the parking lot. (I didn't sleep at all, hoping he would call me back all night. He didn't!) And glare at him some more. And glare and glare and glare and glare and glare.....and he doesn't seem to notice........Grrrrrrrrrrr........

"Is there something wrong?"

I seriously consider slapping him. The nerve! "No no...." I say, my glares intensifying. "It's just that you didn't have your Mirror with you LAST NIGHT!"

"What?" He seems genuinely confused.

"I tried to contact you just to talk last night but you weren't there!"

He gasps, sounding much like a 5 year old girl.. "You couldn't contact me? Were you in danger?"

"NO, and quite fortunately for me! Is my safety that...that trivial to you?"

"But, Katrina, I had my Mirror with me all day and night. It was something on your end that went wrong. Let me see the Mirror, okay?"

I hold it out to him sullenly. "Here, just take it. I won't be needing it. 'Cause you don't care."

"Katrina, stop acting like a spoiled brat! It isn't my fault that you couldn't contact me last night, so stop chewing me up over it! Jeez..."

I'm furious. He shouldn't call me that! He can't call me that! He has no right! In fact I should teach him a lesson! I struggle with my emotions, and decide that's just what he needs. He'll be sorry for calling me a spoiled brat. I start to laugh before I become aware of what I just allowed to escape.

Oh crap! I realize I'm transforming. I am too tired to fight it. I have to be in top physical condition to fight it, and this is not one of those times. I give in before I know what is happening. Kurama notices, and looks up from my damaged Mirror.

"Help!" I yell. My brain is dissolving again.

"Oh god! KATRINA, FIGHT IT! YOU HAVE TO!"

_No...energy..._

"FIGHT IT!"

_Can't...._

"YOU CAN MASTER THAT PANTHER!"

_How.....would he know.....what it's like....._

At that moment something inside of me rebelled. I am getting nowhere by feeling sorry for myself. I will ride this panther. So I'm cursed, big deal! I wield my demon power; the power doesn't wield me. As I think these thoughts, I notice I'm growing stronger. I have the advantage in my battle with the panther; my inner, violent, demonic self.

_I...can..._

_I will...._

_I....MUST...._

And suddenly, panting, I'm on the hard pavement of the parking lot, as a 14 year old girl. Kurama looks dumbstruck.

"Y-y-you did it..." he whispers.

And I realize, for the first time in my life since I was a baby, that I'm crying.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I hope I'm saying this enough. Don't own YYH characters or plotline, nor do I own the real person Katrina Kon. This Katrina Kon is fictional. I claim onto my storyline.

Chapter 9: Beauty Makes Her Move 

"I-I did it," I moan, still sobbing. (Don't know why, at this point) I fought the panther and won.

"Are you okay?" Kurama seems to be more relieved than I am.

"Other than a severe mental breakdown, yes."

He just wipes sweat away from his eyes and says nothing.

"Kurama?"

"Yeah?"

"You told me something, about 3 weeks ago. In the hospital wing. Something about 'you can help me fight my inner demon,' "

"I remember that," he says slowly.

"Well, I need that help. I took the panther by suprise by fighting back and it surely won't be surprised again. It's much stronger than me now. I need some training. I get mad at everything now, because it's an excuse to transform into that demon. Seriously, it's like I have two personalities. One is me, and the other is just plain crazy."

"Katrina, it's really going to be hard and painful to undergo that training...As a brother, I don't know if you're ready yet..."

"Kurama, did I not just harness the panther, even for a few seconds? You have to help me. If that thing ever comes out again..." I shudder. "I just need to be able to control it is all."

"I'll think about it, Katrina, how's that?"

"Good enough, I guess. I gotta go now. Make sure someone else doesn't notice how ripped my uniform is. Bye."

"See ya."

I run back in, all tiredness extinguished. I run into my dorm at record speed and throw open the door. Lucky for me no teacher has checked to see that I am present yet. I throw on a new uniform, and go down to the main hall where dinner lives on. I would have died otherwise.

As I run in, panting, Mie stares at me. "Cool eyes," she says interestedly.

"What?"

"You mean you don't know?" She pulled out a small mirror from her purse and hands it to me.

I look at my eyes. The world stops spinning. My heart stops. There, staring back at me are amber green cat eyes.

_Was this why Kurama is so worried about my transformations?_

I huddle in my bed, wishing I had Kurama to talk to. I forgot to ask him for my mirror back. I don't know the cause of my cat eyes, but it must have something to do with transformations. Maybe the panther and I mold together every time I become it.

I can't stand thinking anymore. At one o'clock, it always, always drives me up the wall. I go to the water fountain just down the hall. I hear a few creaks down the hall, but I pay no attention to them. I should have.

For there standing next to the water fountain, is the Featherbrain herself. She smiles smugly.

"Hello, dear."

_Crap,_ _I'm all alone._

"Nice night tonight, huh?"

_She's got me right where she wants me._

"Nice enough...for some payback."

_Oh, god. No._

Using the speed like that of a viper, she grabs me and holds me in a headlock.

"Tell me where Kurama is, girl. TELL ME WHERE!" Her voice is nothing more than a whisper but I can feel power surging through it.

"NEVER, YOU SICK, DISGUSTING OLD HAG!"

"You wanna try that again, dear?"

"NEVER!!!"

"Go ahead, scream. No one but demons can hear you, and I made sure there were none here."

She pulls out a long, thin knife from a wrist sheath. "_Tell me_."

"You think...I'm so weak...as to betray a friend?!" I call on my demonic power. It soars to meet my need. Much as I hate it, I need it. It's my only chance.

"There are no demons to hear you!" she taunts. She actually doesn't know I plan to eat her.

"Did you check the roof?" A cold voice says.

The movement that follows is too quick for me to see. Just a lot of sword slashing. Beauty lets out a loud shriek and releases me. I turn around, the desire to become a demon is completely squashed by shock. It turn and study both my savior and enemy. Beauty seemingly explodes, and then in her place is a 3-eyed crow. It has a red slash mark on her chest. Her true form.

My hero is a dwarf. My Prince Charming Hero is a dwarf. NO I WILL NOT MARRY HIM!

From what I can see in the dark, he is dressed in black to match his hair, which sticks up really weird. Like, anti-gravitational. He takes another slash at Beauty with his katana, but she flies out a nearby open window.

As usual, I say the first thing that comes to my head. "Who the hell are you and why the hell did you butt in? I was doing fine by myself."

When he speaks, he sounds amused. "Sorry, _princess_. Didn't realize being strangled and stabbed was all part of your plan."

_Princess?! This is not some stupid fairy tale!_

Oh now he's done it. "Who the hell do you think you are, jerk? I like to fight too! I was becoming that panther and she wouldn't have noticed, but you had to yell a hotshot battle cry."

He snickers. "Guess who I am, little girl."

"A midget jerk who needs an attitude adjustment."

"Watch it, human. I just saved your ass."

"I told you, I didn't need your help."

"Right," he says with a sneer.

"JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"One of Kurama's friends. My name is Hiei and I'm a full fire demon. I was supposed to keep watch over you because your Communication Mirror is broken. Beauty broke it by touching it, in fact...."

_So that's why. When she touched my pocket, she destroyed it._

"Anyway, just go back to bed. You're the reason I haven't gotten any sleep for the past two days. He yawned, and seemingly teleported away using that incredible speed.

I feel chill at the fact that this stuck-_up_ midget been watching me for two days.

I trudge back to bed. Almost getting murdered takes a lot out of you.

_Ding! Dingdingdingdingdingding! _My alarm is the most annoying thing ever. I want to kill it.

As I get dressed, I review last night's incident. _Hiei's a jerk, but he's amazingly powerful. Maybe Kurama can teach me howto unlock and control that kind of power._ Speaking of which, what kind out powers does a fox demon have? I know the panther is brute strength, but maybe more powers exist that I haven't uncovered yet. Fire demons are kind of obvious plus that supernatural speed, so what could the fox be?

I sit and ponder this until Mie knocks on my door, and in doing so brings me back to Earth. I usually walk with her to the breakfast hall just because of the fact that we are friends. I'd always fall back asleep if she weren't there to knock on my door. Every. Morning.

I am not looking foward to Period 7. Who knows what the Featherbrain will try next?

A/N I know I ended it kind of abruptly, but this chapter was annoying me for some reason when I wrote it. Don't ask me why...I'm kinda particular about this sort of thing.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH characters or plotline, nor do I own Katrina Kon. I only claim onto the storyline.

Chapter 10: The Rest of the Gang 

I wake up. My god, I've never been this tired in my life before. It's been almost a week since I was nearly strangled and saved by a midget called Hiei. This is the week that completes my first month of school, and that is not a good thing. The teachers are getting into sync with projects now, and have dumped three, yes, _three _of them on me. And they are all huge!

My stress level is not helped by the fact that Featherbrain is getting, well, a bit _shirty _with me. She can't stand the fact that I escaped her twice, plus all those detentions I got out of. I haven't yet had another confrontation with her out of class, at least not life-threatening. Sometimes I will pass her in the hall, and she will whisper 'You die' or something, but she is taking no more chances. I wouldn't either.

I can't help thinking, _The third time I might not be so lucky._

This one guy is stalking me, I swear it. He is a classmate of mine, and he is the typical Jap kid; black hair, brown eyes, and is weird. Every day he dresses in green, which is against the school uniform code thingy. And he is constantly bugging the teachers in any way possible. Your average class clown. He looks at me funny whenever he sees me, as though sizing me up. I'm five' seven" thank you! I don't need sizing up, Yusuke Urameshi!

In another class there is a real quiet guy with short red hair and is really proud of his fighting prowess. His name is Kazuma Kuwabara. He's gotta be seven feet tall. I can't believe he's only 14. He also seems to follow me around no matter what I do. So, because of my blunt nature, I have to say something.

"Look, I don't know what you want or what you're after, but stop following me!" I say this afternoon to the human carrot top. "At least, I'd really appreciate it."

He laughs weirdly, in an I-know-something-you-don't-know way. That way ticks me off. "I'm a friend of Kurama, okay? So's Yusuke. I can't believe he didn't say something about us..." His eyes cloud over. "Here's the proof." He holds out what is unmistakably a Commir.

"Okay, fine then. But stop following me!" I hiss.

"Just acting on my orders."

_Orders? Whose orders?_

"See ya, then."

I watch him walk off. How many people are following me, for the love of God?

I ask Kurama that very question in the parking lot at resource break. I told Ms. Soshi (the science teacher) I was going to the bathroom , and she fell for it. She won't even notice if I stay the whole period. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

"Kurama, how many people are watching me? You know, all the time?"

"Let's see..." He counts on his fingers. "Keiko Yukimura, Yusuke Urameshi, Kazuma Kuwabara, Hiei, Botan, Genkai, and Yukina."

"What the hell...?" I explode. "YOU MEAN I CAN'T TAKE CARE OF MYSELF?"

"Until you can control the panther, yes."

I seethe, but then force myself to calm down. I'm getting good anger management. "But why aren't you teaching me how?"

Ignoring me, he takes out 6 different mirrors at once, and calls into them the names of all of his spies. I watch, and a girl flies in on a paddle within seconds, looking so incredibly _stupid_ I want to slap that grin off her face. Yusuke and Kazuma run out with Keiko (Keiko had been forcing them to study in the library with her) and then Hiei materializes from a spot on the roof (what's his obsession with roofs anyway). An aqua haired girl then runs up from behind a bush. Lastly, a magenta haired old woman, makes several amazing leaps to land in front of me.

I study all the unnaturally colored hair. COOL!!!!!!

"Can I touch your guy's hair?"

They stare at me. Kurama buries his head in his hands.

After everyone gets over the thing I just said, the all argue over who gets to introduce who. Like little babies. Even Hiei. The aqua haired girl just hangs behind like a wuss. Finally, they seem to come to an agreement when Kurama brandishes a thorny whip at them. _I _didn't know he could do that! Oh well, must be a fox power. That would explain why he's so good at herbs...

The aqua-haired girl is chosen.

The aqua haired girl steps up. "Hi...I'm Yukina. And this is my boyfriend Kazuma."

Now I know she's a wuss. Going out with such an oaf...

"The blue haired girl's name is Botan, and she is a guide to the Spirit World for lost souls. Her paddle is a token of the Spirit World." To tell the truth, I still don't get the point of the paddle.

"You must know Keiko and Yusuke, who---"

"---Hi," says Yusuke. "I'm Yusuke..."

_Why's he blushing? And why does Keiko look ready to kill him?_

"Continue, Yukina," says Keiko, dragging Yusuke away from me, complete with steam coming out of her ears.

"Thank you, Keiko. As I was saying, Keiko and Yusuke are also a pair. This woman's name is Genkai," She says, indicating the old woman. "She was the one who gave Yusuke both training and useful powers---"

"---Except for some simple respect..." mutters Yusuke.

"Shut it, fool," says Grandma/Genkai. "I'll take it from here, Yukina." Yukina nods gratefully.

"The last two are both your brother Kurama, and Hiei, a fire demon."

Hiei and I glare at each other. Finally I can't resist. "How are you, old friend?"

"Hn."

"Glad to hear it. Hiei, I was wondering..."

"WHAT?!"

"How does such a scrawny midget get to be so powerful? I mean, I bet Beauty's your idol, powerwise, anyway, But you take the cake for being a jerk."

Hiei is rising to my bait, as I expected. He's turing red. He obviously wants to play the mature adult figure, but is way failing.

"Stop it," says Kurama, looking ready to laugh. Hiei and I both give him the you-should-be-on-my-side look. "I don't know how this rivalry happened, but you are part of the team now. Both of you."

Hiei glares at me. "Hn."

_Me and him friends? Not in this lifetime._

"How could you, Keiko?" I asked, deeply hurt. We are both getting ready for bed.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't want you to get all mad at me. Then you'd kill me with the panther form, and in case you didn't know, I can't defend myself." She sniffles.

_Why would I have gotten mad at her because of that?_

"The only reason I'm allowed on the team is because of my connection to Yusuke. When I saw him flirting with you today...I..." A sob escapes Keiko. "I just don't want to give up this life. I'd die without exposure to the adventure I've grown accustomed to, and if he finds another girl, then they won't keep me. And I like him somewhat, but not like he likes me. I'm dragging them behind, I know I am, even if they won't admit it..." She's crying freely now.

"Keiko, Keiko, calm down, please," I say, failing to stem her crying. "Keiko!"

"What?" she blubbers.

I've tried everything else. "Never figured you for a wuss, you know."

She's taken aback. "What?" she repeats.

"You're what keeps Yusuke strong, Keiko. He really likes you a lot. He's really confident all because you believe in him and his abilities....And..." I've heard this in a movie, somewhere...._C'mon, c'mon, how did it go....._ "You're what keeps him afloat. Of course he's going to annoy you sometimes, that's what friends do. Just put up with him, and you'll never regret it. Don't get mad, just accept him for who he is. And as for the team, they need your brains."

"Really?" She says, her pretty light-brown eyes shining.

"Really."

"Thanks. Thanks a lot, Kasumi. How can I repay you...OH! I could help you with your projects!"

"You don't have to, but thanks, Keiko." We smile at each other.

Well, I got off pretty well. I'm getting first class project help from the most school oriented girl ever, and just told her a few lines from CasablancaHahahahaha!

A/N Bye-bye! This was written differently from the other chapters, so I hope you like the new style!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or Katrina Kon. I only own the storyline.

Chapter 11: Secrets 

_Buzz, buzz._

_Buzz, buzz._

_Buzz, buzz._

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SOUND?! Oh, never mind. It's only my new alarm clock. I try to turn it off, but then Keiko walks in.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT NOISE?!" She yells.

"Ahhhh, Keiko, get away from me!" She is brandishing a chair a little too close to me for comfort. I notice her usually brown eyes are glowing an intensifying violet. "Uhh, Keiko?"

"TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF! TURN..."

I shut it off hurriedly. She drops the chair and slumps to the floor.

"Keiko? Keiko?" I say directly to her. She is obviously unconscious. Mie runs in. Jeez, is everyone going to come in here?

"Wha---What happened to Keiko?" She stares at me. "You didn't do this, right?"

I glare at her. "What is wrong with you, lately? Why do you mistrust me for everything?"

She glares back, but swallows and drops her gaze. "Well, you're the one acting really violent, lately! You get pissed at everything, you're no fun to be around, and you think I shouldn't be pissed off?"

I gaze into space in horror. Mie never was, is, or will be a liar. She's the most honest preson I know. _Maybe my cat eyes aren't the only thing that's changed._

"Mie, Keiko tried to attack me! Something about my alarm clock buzzing..."

"I'll take her to the nurse," she says. I can tell she doesn't believe me. And it just isn't something Keiko would do. She's really gentle.

Just then the door opens. I stare and come dangerously close to laughing. It's Hiei, in a doctor's uniform. Mie stares down at him. (Well, she is, like, two feet taller) "Who are you?"

Hiei speaks, sounding mechanical and dead. "I-am-a-school-doctor-and-I-heard-a-noise-so-I-went-to-see-what-the-problem-was. What-has-happened-here-_ladies?_"

"I've never seen you here before." Says Mie.

"I-am-new-here."

She looks uncertain. "Well, it's Keiko Yukimura. She looks like someone..." She glares at me. "...knocked her out."

"I was with Keiko at the time, _Mr. Human Doctor Sir._"

"All-right-then. Miss-I-will-ask-you-to-leave-while-your-friend-fills-me-in-please."

Mie huffs and walks out to breakfast. As soon as I'm sure she's gone, I lol.

"Hiei, what the hell are you doing here? Your lines sounded way too rehearsed, by the way."

He strips off his white hat, throws it on the ground, and stamps on it for good measure. "Never mind that, what happened to the girl?"

I told him everything. "Seriously, it was as though the alarm clock was making her crazy. She looked like one mad demon."

"Let me see this so-called alarm clock."

I cross the room to it, and try to lift it, but IT WON'T COME OFF! After much cursing and straining, I detach it from my bedside table. I wonder how it got so stuck there...

Hiei looks over it with a practiced eye. He turns it over, then looks at the sides, then bangs it on my bed. He turns on the signal ten times at least, and just about when I'm ready to scream with boredom, he finally speaks.

"As I suspected," He begins, in a know-it-all voice that makes me want to throttle him. "It's the buzzer that made her crazy. It's a demonic torture device for humans only, because it doesn't affect demons or part demons. When a mortal/human hears the noise, they instantly act as though they are on a super stimulant. The sound releases anger and bad feelings. They also try to shut it off. It's kind of like your panther transformations, you know, they have no free will. They only have the feeling, with every nerve in their body, that they have to stop hearing the noise. That's why Mie acted the way she did. She probably feels that way deep down, but she would never tell you about it. I guess she heard catches of the buzzing. Speaking of panthers, I suppose you've been wondering why you aren't yourself and why you have green cat eyes."

I nod, stunned by this different, calculative, sharp side of Hiei.

"Well, basically, it's just your body's temporary reaction to your semi-uncontrolled panther powers. It happens to every demon at some point. Kurama went through it, I did, Yukina did, it's perfectly natural. But if you keep ignoring your power, then your body will keep transforming, if slowly, into your demon form. Then you'll be stuck as a demon for good.

Once you have your powers under control, however, the effects will wear away within days. You have just the minor effects now, which are rashness, anger, and eye difference. You still have time. I keep telling Kurama he needs to train you before it's too late, but he won't. I guess he has his reasons. He's the smart one, after all, him and Keiko. You're going to have to ask him yourself."

"But I have! He just tells me either I'm not ready, too young, or just ignores me!"

"Don't ask me to question the fox, lady."

We need a subject change. "So how could I have bought a cursed alarm clock?"

"I have no idea, but it must be linked to Beauty. Maybe she planned for your friends to gang up on you and kill you. Then maybe she could use your demonic juice for herself. Kurama isn't the one she's after, Katrina. It's you."

"WHY?" I shout. I quiet myself in horror. "Why does she need the Kon children? There are more demons in the sea."

"Well," Hiei hisses. "She thinks you can't defend yourself, because I saved you that night when she almost got you. I think being in such close range of you, she sensed all of that demonic power trapped within, some of which you haven't even found for yourself. She moved on that night, to you."

"God, I'm gonna die," I whisper.

"Not yet," says Hiei. He opens my window, taking the alarm clock with him. "I'll run some more checks on this at home base, so see ya." He jumps out, then flies back in just as I'm shutting the window. I hear a thud, and Hiei has a huge bump on his forehead. "Here's your Commir back, Kurama it fixed...fixed it...Bye..." He leaps/flies out dazedly.

I watch him go out, feeling bad about his bump. _Maybe he doesn't hate me._

I realize with a pang of my poor, poor stomach that I've missed breakfast. I run out the door so I won't be late for first period.

The day goes by quick. Mie is not talking to me. I don't know if she really is mad or if she's just embarrassed to apologize. At least Flo, Kanerusa, and Akane didn't hear that awful ringing. At least, I'm pretty sure they are humans

I got back a test on the Third Civil War from the Featherbrain and I aced it. Keiko had been taken down to the hospital wing, and when she woke up, couldn't remember why she was sent there. I went to her at resource period and updated her, and she apologized over and over. She said she must help me study for the test today, and so of course I didn't refuse. I owe it all to Keiko, my new best friend.

She is my greatest friend not only because Mie doesn't like me anymore, but because she knows my situation. I can talk to her when Kurama's not around (who I talk to a great deal lately now that I have my Commir back). Keiko is better than Mie ever was. We have so much more in common!

My life is pretty good.

A/N Review or else no more story!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: With all these disclaimers out, no one had better try to get me in trouble again! Don't own YYH or Katrina Kon, I only own the storyline.

Chapter 12: A Training Proposal At Last 

I've thought a lot about what Hiei said about Kurama not wanting to train me, and the more I think about it, the more angry I get! Hiei's actually right, I'll have to convince him myself. I can't believe Kurama's the brains of this group. He has to know that he's codemning me to life in a zoo if he keeps up with this attitude. If he won't grow up, then I'm going to make him.

I arrange with him, via the Commir, that we will meet in the parking lot for the umpteenth time. Since I'm on weekend break, I can spend as much time there as I want. We have had so many meetings around school grounds that I know I will never get lost outside here. Ever.

"Kurama, I have a bone to pick with you. Several bones, in fact. And big ones, as in that of a T-Rex, too. "

"Oh, just get to the point."

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm getting, well, _meaner._ In fact, I seem to have different eyes. Hiei recently told me that eventually I will morph into my demon form, and stay like that, without a brain or free will, for THE REST OF MY LIFE. Do you think I might want to STOP that transformation so that I will not have to go through life in a zoo? DO you? DO you? DO YOU?!"

Kurama looks vaguely frightened. "Katrina, cool it. You are not ready for the training required, all right. I said I'd think 'bout it and that's my answer. That's it."

Just as I'm ready to swear at him, the fool that he is, the old woman jumps out of nowhere. What was her name?

"Kurama, stop being a fool. You know she needs it. She'll never be ready at the speed rate you're going---" Kurama puts a hand over her mouth. "Katrina, Genkai and I are going to talk for a while, so can you leave us?" She writhes furiously. She puts her hands together as if praying. Kurama's green eyes widen. Then she mutters something: 'Zen-quan-ke-ed-so-na-ree-lo.' It's only mishmash, spoken from under a hand also, but I can here unearthly magic within it.

"KAN!" She finishes, and suddenly Kurama is blown back by an incredible wave of energy. He's not the only one blown by that force. I come to with someone slapping my face. It's Genkai.

"G-get away fr-from me, murderer," I say. I took Karate when I was 10, so I've learned to read people depending on breathing rate. Thrusts in the chest often gave away the next movement, but she moved without warning. Who knows what she'll do next.

"Child, honestly," she says. "That wasn't a death blast, girl, Kurama is still fine, see?" She points at a stirring Kurama. "That blast was just meant to get him _off _me."

She glares at Kurama as he pulls himself up to a sitting position. "BOY, I don't care if you're the emperor of Japan, but you don't call the shots around here. I do, and I say you're being over-protective. She is going to have to go through this sometime, and you trying to protect her all of the time is getting her nowhere. You have to learn to let her reach her destiny, Kurama. It's not up to me what you do with her, because she is your little sister. But I strongly advise you to take my advice. So, I suppose I'll be seeing you sometime soon."

Kurama growls as she jumps away. "That excuse for a woman..." He notices me listening intently. "Oh all right. You will learn to master your power from Genkai."

"G-Genkai?" I ask. "I would much rather have you teach me, though."

"Nope, I suck at teaching. It's Her Royal Hiney who'll teach you something." Still muttering, he walks off, so I decide to go back inside. Maybe I'll talk to Keiko or something.

I hug myself. Crabby dictatorious teacher or not, I'm glad to be getting lessons.

A/N

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Boy does she know what she's gotten herself into!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or Katrina Kon. I only own the storyline. Thanks to my signed and anonymous reviewers, particularly Anime-Freak54. Thanks!

**Chapter 13: Why Did I Want to Learn from Genkai Again?**

I have never felt more alert in my life. I'm so excited about learning from Genkai! I start to whistle, 'cause I'm never going to become the panther again! At least, that's what I hope. I am walking to her with Keiko in tow, even though she is complaining about getting up so early when we are on the Japanese Independence Day Holiday Week. The only way I got her to come was because I said I needed to "repay" her for getting me A's on all of my projects. I don't think this was what she had in mind, though. Hehe.

I see Genkai and run to her excitedly. Keiko grudgingly follows. "HI, GENKAI!" I yell like a little girl.

"Hello, girls. Follow me."

She drags us on and on and on and on, getting miles away from the school. At least Keiko and I won't be missed, since all the teachers are at home with their families. Even my enthusiasm is wearing thin by the time we reach an ancient, large temple.

"Keiko, you already know this, but Katrina, this is where I train. I also trained Yusuke here. His training took many months." I utter a gasp of surprise. If she heard it, she pretended not to.

"Since you are part demon already, therefore not full human like him, your training should only take a few weeks. As you are on quarter break as well as holiday break, you should be ready by the time you go back to school. You will live here until at which time you are fully trained. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Okay, let's not waste time. Show me your powers. I need to know what you _can_ do."

I don't like how she said 'can.' Almost as though I don't know anything. Oh, well. She is a tough freak as it is. I search inside for the panther, and it rises eagerly to meet my calling. I can feel transformation coming on. I start to pant and then.....

"Girl, not that kind of power. Not where you transform. Show me spirit energy. C'mon, you can do it, girl, go! After several more fruitless attemps, she rolls her eyes. "Watch my demonstration." She stares at her hand, which begins to glow with golden energy. It's so beautiful...

"How do you do that?" I inquire.

"Reach inside your soul and you should find a ball of energy. It is from this fireball that you call your powers from, including your panther shape. Concentrate on believing there is a ball of energy within you, and you will make fire. Go on, go on!"

"ALL RIGHT!" She's pushy. V-e-r-y pushy. I concentrate on the impossible. Sweat appears on my forehead.

"You're not believing!" She says harshly. I glare at her and try again.

To my surprise, blue fire appears in my hand, slowly spreading throughout my body. Now I'm glowing all over. I see Genkai looking puzzled.

"Girl, where did you learn that?"

"First of all, my name isn't 'Girl.' And secondly, I just let the power spread by itself. I didn't have too much to do with it."

"Well, _Katrina, _you're a fast learner. It took Yusuke a long time to master that one. Try another one. Now, Kurama told me that you're half panther, half human?"

"That's correct. And by the way, where's Keiko? Haven't seen her for a while."

"She's asleep in her room. Anyway, demons have a secondary effect to their main strength. Yours is brute strength and camouflage, Kurama's is poisonous plants and healing abilities, Hiei's is flame powers and non-human speed, Yukina's are icy attacks and healing ability...It's the same for every demon. You need to excercise both of those powers to really get control, so that's what we will work on soon. Make more fire for me, please."

I make it. "Again!" I make it again. "Again!" I make it again. "Again!" This goes on for several hours until I can barely walk. "Go to bed, Katrina." I gladly oblige. I'm sharing the same room as Keiko, who by this time has woken up (finally).

"How was it?" she asks. I start to answer, but the bed is too comfortable. _See ya, world_...

I awaken to hear voices outside my door. I know it's wrong to eavesdropp, but I do it anyway. Oh, well. It's Yusuke and Genkai; their voices are very distinctive.

Genkai is talking. "...Power...incredible..."

Some dude, probably Yusuke, talks. "How can you tell?"

"Trust me, she...improving...faster than you did."

"YOU'RE KIDDING! I was the one who beat Tigoro in the Dark Tournament, before all those sick demonic fans! I was the one who brought you and Kuwabara back to life...literally!"

"True, but she is more powerful than you. And Botan brought me back to life, buffoon! Kurama told me that she already prevented a transformation all by herslf, and that's something some adult demons can't do, and as she's a half demon, too...It's a little too early to tell, but I can make an educated guess that she's going to be an impressive fighter one day. Perhaps even better than me. Unlike you."

"Just what I need, another meaner, more powerful, annoying...er Genkai," Yusuke mutters. They disperse to the temple gym.

They obviously didn't know what they were talking about. Me, a good fighter? I laugh. I don't much approve of fighting for sport, I think it just wastes time.

"Okay Katrina, today we move on. You have shown great talent in terms of fire making. Now we'll move on to more tricky stuff."

"Okay..." I flinch. Her voice makes me flinch.

"Become the panther for me. I will use my power to let you keep your mind for the first time through, but after that you will have to do it yourself. We will spend many weeks on this. Begin!"

I oblige. Keiko looks worried. However worried she is, I'm more so. What if I kill my teacher? Maybe she'd be happier dead, though. She certainly is always grim in life.

I transform quicker this time. It gets easier every time I try to. I can vaguely see Genkai chanting, and just as I was beginning to feel some mind tyranny resistance from the panther, there is none at all. The strangest feeling...

I confidently go through the ritual, and am suddenly standing, a great hairy black beast, on the floor of Genkai's temple. I walk around, flexing my four legs. I feel incredible power in me, surging through my blood. I try to speak, but a growl comes out instead. I try to laugh at it but can't.

So, I pace over to Keiko. She is white under her tan. She shakes violently. (Hey, I'd be afraid of me too! I'm twice as big as a normal panther). She takes a deep breath and reaches up, changes her mind, and runs like heck. Oh sheesh, is this how everyone is going to react to me now?

Genkai calls me over. I can see she is straining. "I'm going to release you from my magic, okay? Just be prepared to fight it again."

I nod, gravely dreading that time.

"Three, two, one, FIGHT!"

I feel it again beneath me. I sweat instantly and fight to supress it. This time, I will not become a mad beast, or kill Keiko or Genkai. Strong as Genkai is, I don't think she could handle me killing her or my best friend.

_I will not let it beat...me down..._

_Just try it, panther..._

_Try it..._

_See if you can..._

__

I'm me again! Memememememememememememe! I never loved me so much!

"Keiko! I'm meeeeeeeeeeeeee! I didn't even feel myself changing back!" I run into her room her to tell her about it. She stares slowly, and looks immensely relieved that I am 13 and human again.

When I run back with Keiko in tow, I see that Genkai looks impressed. "You beat it in such a short period of time, too! Impressive, Katrina really."

I hear a 'but' in her voice. "But..." I prompt.

"But I'm afraid you were only able to beat it quickly because I kept it under for so long. You've a long way to go, Katrina."

"Must you _always_ be optimistic, Genkai?" I ask sarcastically in a pained voice.

She smiles. "Training resumes for tomorrow. I'm afraid neither of us have any Spirit Energy left."

I eagerly totter to bed and dreamlessly sleep for many long hours. I don't even hear Keiko come in.

A/N 45 chapters completed! Though by the time I post this I'll probably be well into 50...ideas, ideas...

SPOILER WARNING! The gang gets to the actual famous spirit world in chapters 21 or 22.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: All you guys demanding action, I think you'll like what you see. Don't own YYH, or Katrina Kon. I only own the storyline.

Chapter 14: My First Battle 

It's 3 days until I have to go back to school. And, somehow, I've been fitting in 10 hour a day training for 2 weeks. Genkai has not only taught me how to handle my panther mind, for the most part anyway, but also to camouflage myself. And it's not just camouflage; it's more of a complex form of How-To-Be-An-Invisible-Chameleon 101. However, camouflage requires an enormous amount of chi (energy) and its also very hard to do.

I'm panting on the ground again, in a pushup-like stance. Now you know why I hate camouflage. It takes so much incredible energy to rearrange my pigment.

I collapse. The floor is so soft...

"GET UP!" Yells Genkai, making me jump a foot in the air.

"STOP YELLING AT ME!" I scream back. "I'M TRYING, OKAY?!"

"Pitiful, just pitiful. Yusuke had more spunk than you."

I could have sworn I felt my eyes light themselves on fire. My brain is melting into a mess of rage. I hate everything...

"AGAIN!"

I do it to make her shut the hell up. This time I really knock myself out trying.

She slaps my face, of course. I'm starting to see what Yusuke meant when he said that she was a heartless old hag. My god, a little kindness wouldn't kill her.

Or would it...

As I stare up at her evilly, I finally see a spark of pity in those cold, cold eyes. "Okay, I think that's all of the practice you're going to need for some hand-to-hand combat now. Are you ready?"

"Yes! That's what I've been trying---"

"---I'll call Yusuke by mirror..." She pulls out a mirror and calls him from his room. He runs in at top speed. I guess he must have his own room here, being Genkai's apprentice and all.

"What's the deal, Grandma, I was sleeping---" She cuts him off with a hand gesture and points to me, exhausted little me, lying on the floor. He looks at me with abject horror.

"You don't seriously mean...Genkai, she needs to see a healer! Yukina, maybe....I'll kill her like that..."

"What?" I say, shaking with anger. "Y-you think I'm weak?!"

Genkai rolls her eyes. "He's right, you know."

"HE'S WRONG!!!!"

After much more shouting and foot stamping and unwilling dragging, Genkai gets me under control with a rather stunning blow to the head. As I'm cuckoo and paralyzed, she touches my hand to hers, and suddenly my exhaustion was lifted and annuled. I could also move again.

"Ahhhh..." I stretch. "Never do that again." I warn, indicaing her severe blow.

"I won't if you won't."

"All right, sheesh." I mutter. "So, I hafta fight him, right?" I ask in an undertone.

"Yes. Think of it as an exam."

"Okay, then," I stretch again. "Bring it on, tough guy."

Yusuke was sputtering before I said that, but now looks pretty hungry to fight me. Now I know he responds easily to taunts. That will definitely be valuable later.

_He hopes to prove that he really is stronger, in front of Genkai also,_ I realize. He must be thinking of that last conversation they had outside my door.

"Follow me," says Genkai. "I'll bring you to a rink where you can battle."

We both follow. I'm a little apprehensive, because I'll never live it down if he beats me. But if I beat him, he'll never live it down...Too delicious for thought!

Genkai leads us down to the basement, or what seems like a basement, and flicks a switch. What was dark is lit by many light bulbs, and we see a large circular rink. "Fight here." She commands.

We stand at the middle of the gym, and both of us adapt Karate or Kung Fu poses. I feel kind of silly, but that's the best way I know of how to fight. Yusuke grins, obviously thinking I'm no worthy opponent for _his_ status. Well, I'm going to show him up, all right.

"I promise to go easy on you," he taunts.

"Try me," I reply. "We'll see if I'm really weak or not."

Yusuke sneers. "Bet you can't even...huh?"

I'm glowing with blue fire. Though this wastes power, I need to unnerve him. _Let him be stupid_, I think to myself.

He is obviously worried, judging from the look on his face. I would be too if I saw my opponent glowing. My fire is intensifying slowly, as I build up power. Going for the stun factor, without warning I let it flare out from my body. I strike him, and he just lays there. _Too easy. It isn't over yet._

He stands up. "Well, little girl, I underestimated you. I won't make the same mistake again."

"I'M AS OLD---OLDER---THAN YOU ARE!"

He ignores me, and just circles me warily. He's taking caution, and so he should. Then---

I sidestep a huge fist aimed for the KO pressure point on my back. _That was awfully quick._

As I'm feeling foolishly over-confident, because I avoided that attack, he strikes me a glancing blow on my arm. It was his unfortunate miss, not my lucky dodge. It stings! He lands another one, this time in my gut, when I'm trying to recover from the first, and this one hits home. I wince and double over. God, that hurt.

I feel sweat on my face. If that happens again, I might be in real trouble. Even his glancing blows are murderous. Time for desperate measures.

I call on the orb of blue fire that is my magic. Though I sweat, I feel myself, my chi, vanish. _Cool, _I think. _My camouflage technique actually worked! _It really is hard to call that much power up, and to hold onto it even more so. But once you are fully camouflaged, it's the opposite: It's hard to make yourself visible again.

I circle him, completely invisible to the human eye. I'm certainly enjoying myself. He's looking petrified. I lunge for the pressure point on his back, and he notices the change in air pressure behind him and dodges too late. I press that special, vulnerable spot. All I feel is a slight twitching motion. I leap away as Yusuke falls, his eyes wide and staring.

I hit his head again. As soon as I'm sure he's out cold, I struggle to make myself visible again. As soon as I do, it feels like a huge weight that was my magic was taken off my shoulders. Using magic is hard work!

I vaguely hear people clapping. I turn to see my brother, Hiei, Yukina, Botan, and all the others cheering. Now when did they get there?

Genkai actually smiles. "Katrina, to beat Yusuke...you're really something, you know that?"

Next, paddle girl-Botan, I think-steps up. "Incredible," she begins in that annoying sing-song voice. "No one has beaten Yusuke---ever. And all he landed on you was a glancing blow on the arm!" She studies me. "And one in your tummy!"

Now I'm scared. She's talking ot me like I'm five years old. "It was his overconfidence that lost him the fight, Botan. If he had known how much I've practiced using my powers, even outside of lessons, I think I probably would have lost. My training time, thus my skill level, doesn't compare to his."

"Oh, but you're being modest!" She practically yells. "Overconfident or not, one simple touch took him out cold! No one's done that to him for so long..." She takes a deep breath, obviously preparing for a long sentence. "I'm glad you beat him he was getting kind of chubby this will spur him on to more vigorous training someone needed to put him in his place and you did a fine job of that my dear!" She grins widely. She takes another deep breath, but fortunately Kurama stops her. She takes the cake for yakking nonstop, all right. And I didn't think Yusuke looked fat at all! i thought he looked kind of skinny!

"So, how about dinner everyone?" Everyone, even Hiei, smiles at this and zips down to the dining room.

Yusuke is finally coming to. The whole gang, including me, is standing over him, having finished our dinner of steak and potatoes. His eyes widen.

"Wha-whaa-WHY is everyone staring at me?"

"Just wondering when you thought was a good time to wake up, you moronic Sleeping Beauty." Mutters Kuwabara.

Yusuke shoots him a paralyzing glare. "Well, I guess I just got tired after beating Katrina," he says, yawning. "She was a tough opponent, but she's got aways to go."

Genkai just barely smothers a giggle. Kurama is taking deep breaths and is chewing his thumbnail. Hiei just look on amusedly. Botan and Keiko laugh outright, all manners forgotten. Soon everyone else joins in, except for me.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?"

"Well," says a hiccuping Genkai. hic "You seem to be (hic) confused (hic) about the outcome of (hic) that match."

"You're not telling me....." Genkai nods, coughing into her hand happily. "I lost.....to her? How...."

I think it's time for me to speak up. "Yusuke, you just got overconfident. Next time, just..."

He runs out, shoving through our circle, steam issuing out of his ears. I watch worriedly.

"Don't wory, Katrina," says Kurama. "His drunken bum of a mother never taught him sportsmanship, and he never had to learn it because he always beat his enemies. Now I guess he's going to have to."

"I don't need more enemies," I say hotly. "Beauty's plenty..."

"Speaking of Beauty," interrupts Hiei. "I studied your clock, and it had her fingerprints on it. I think she must have switched it with your regular alarm clock when you were at lunch class or something."

"There's no such thing as lunch _class_, stupid," I say meanly. Everyone glares at me. I stare at the ground. "I'm sorry Hiei, I just have no tolerance for poor sports."

"Agreed." he mutters. He didn't seem too impressed with Yusuke either.

"I'm lying down, okay? No one disturb me." I walk off to my room expecting to find solitude. Instead, I find Keiko. She opens her mouth, but I cut her off. "I don't want to talk about it, okay? I know I have a bad temper and that I'm selfish and awful and---"

Keiko glares at me. "I just wanted to congratulate you on your victory, but forget it."

_My grand total of people I've hurt today is 3. Sheesh!_

"I wish you wouldn't be so suspicious of me all the time, Kat." Only she calls me Kat. "I mean, we're supposed to be friends, right?"

"I'm sorry, Keiko. I just hate it when someone is a poor sport. Which is how your boyfriend is acting, by the way."

"Yeah, he's like that. It can't be helped. But tell me how you beat him, please! I'm dying to know. I wasn't there until the very end."

Well, since she asked so nicely...

I eagerly tell her everything, from the camouflage to the pressure point, and she's incredulous, all traces of anger left behind.

I wake up in the middle of the night, to rinse my mouth out, and guess what

MY CAT EYES ARE GONE!

A/N Hope you enjoyed it. R&R!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or characters of such show, and Katrina Kon is only a fictional character.

**Chapter 15: I Left Genkai, But Not Beauty**

_It's a braaaaannnd neeeeeeeeeew daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay---_

The radio never finishes its song. I throw it out the window before the opera lady singing busts her diaphragm. It is a brand new day, but it's also an early new day. I wonder who the hell turned on my radio. Whoever did had better keep a low profile...

I grudgingly dress, hating my radio's guts/mechanical parts. Jeez, if you absolutely have to sing, god knows why that would be, you should do it in complete solitude. Whether singing is good, bad, high, low...SHUUUUUUUT UUUUUUPPPPP ALREADY! I look over a Keiko in the next bed in our room, sound asleep. How could she have slept through that? How I envy her!

Hating the world, particularly Keiko, I go downstairs to eat my breakfast in the main temple training gym. As I sit down, I stare at my plate. It's heaped with piles of---vegetables. (This is the part where the readers gasp in horror. ...That's your cue...c'mon, GASP!!!) I mean, carrots and radishes and lettuce and celery and just about every other type known to mankind. Why vegetables? For breakfast?

Genkai sashays by. I wanna slap that happy grin off her old, wrinkled face.

"Why are you so happy? And what's with the vegetables?"

"Oh, Katrina, I'm just so proud. Someone finally spurred Yusuke on to train harder! NO one has ever done that, even when he wasn't Spirit Detective!"

I look at her uncertainly. What's she smoking? I mean, I didn't know she remembered how to smile. "And the vegetables?"

"Well, after your duel with him yesterday, I thought you'd be hungry. Vegetables are energy food, you know. Very healthy to eat!"

"They're horrible food," I say. "Sorry, but I'm not a veggie person. And---" I cut off worriedly as I see Genkai start to swell.

"DON'T......EAT.....VEGETABLES?"

Oh no. The last thing I need is a homicidal old hag on my back. "Actually, I-I lied. I love them..." To my extreme, extreme relief, she shrinks back down to the size of an ordinary old hag.

"Good girl," She tells me genially, as though nothing had happened. Then, to my dismay, she turns all business-like again. "All right, Katrina, I want to see you in the courtyard. And please, hurry. This will be the finishing lesson. I want to teach some more Jiu-Jitsu and Tae Kwon Do."

"All, right," I groan. I don't know which I'm dreading more---vegetable breakfast or the last long martial art lesson.

I groan again and get started. To my surprise, I manage to choke everything down except for the radishes. Now, I can eat cabbage and green pepper, but radishes---NO. They are bitter and awful and red as blood. But Genkai will make me eat them or kill me if I don't, so I do the only reasonable thing---put them in my pocket. I run outside to the courtyard.

"Not that way, Katrina, try it again." Even Genkai looks worn out.

"I am trying..."

"Just do it again, then. We don't have all day!"

I try the ax kick again. It's a complicated move that requires quite a limber leg. You basically have to throw up a leg as high as your head and then bring it crashing down on your opponents shoulder, and in my case, a cloth dummy. My legs just don't bend that way. I always recieved about a 5 on that machine where they measure how far you can reach to your toes.

"Katrina, you can control your panther form, camouflage perfectly, perform near-perfect martial arts, and the only thing keeping you from finishing Judo is a simple ax kick?"

I bite back a sharp remark. She's right. She's always right. Today was exam day, and I passed everything she just said, except for the ax kick.

I try again fruitlessly, then turn to her. "Can't you be a little bit more encouraging, Genkai?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"If you need to be coddled to do the thing right, you might as well not even have learned it at all."

I glare at her furiously. "I will do this, Genkai, you got that?"

She smirks, which makes me even madder. "Show me."

"I'll show you," I mutter under my breath.

This time I really concentrate hard as I perform my stretches. What is the hag's problem anyway? I glare at her, and sweep up my foot into a perfect ax kick right on, instead of my practice dummy, Genkai's shoulder. She falls to the ground, not unconcious, but obviously in pain. I feel mad gleeful triumph, then it is quickly replaced by concern.

"Genkai, are you all right? I just got mad, and I took it out on you, and I'm sorry!" I bend down to look her in the eyes. All right, I'm not really sorry, but I'd rather apologize than die.

I can see a vein throbbing in her head. Never a good sign. As she is about to start shouting, Keiko and Kuwabara arrive. They also notice the vein,(that's how big it was) and wisely step back.

"Katrina...I just want to say one thing before you leave with your escort party bound for school, all right?"

I nod and brace myself for some screaming. Nothing happens. I open my tightly closed eyes uncertainly.

"First of all, YOU DO NOT HIT THE SENSEI!" There it is! Beloved, sweet, old Genkai.

After several more moments of shouting, most of which I cannot repeat, I flinch, obviously.

"Secondly..." Her eyes soften slightly. "That was one fine ax kick. Congratulations, kiddo. You're free of me for a while."

I beam until she slaps it off my face. Keiko calls my name, and soon I'm riding in a very small wagon, back to school. I guess that's because no one is allowed to drive yet. Still, whoever heard of mythic heroes riding in a very cramped red wagon?

Sad.

When I wake up the next morning, I'm in my own dormitory bed. I almost cheer, because I won't have to see Genkai again.

As I climb out of bed to get into my uniform, I notice Mie, in the bed next to mine, is already awake. I look at her pitifully, seeking forgiveness, but she just glares at me, and mutters something like _you-did-it. _Then she rolls over on the side not facing me.

But not even my ex-best friend totally alienating me can extinguish my mood. All I can think of is free, free, free, almost to the point of blank stupidity. Maybe I am already there, come to think of it.

The morning flies by uneventfully. Yusuke and Mie refuse to look me in the eyes, but all of my other friends can't seem to help doing the opposite. They must be wondering why they didn't see me for break at all. I have no idea how to answer their questions, either. At lunchtime, they all confront me.

All at the same time, they ask: "WHERE WERE YOU ON VACATION?"

"Uh, well, heheh, didja miss me?"

"Katrina, what's going on here? You are so secretive lately!"

"I took a lot of walks outside..." As I despair, Keiko comes to my rescue. "C'mon girls, can't you give the girl a break? She only signed up for the Karate team, which they took to a real live old dojo in the west. It was like a field trip, you know. I went with her, and we saw so much cool stuff! And I reckon we can fight now. This one thing we saw..."

As Keiko is saving my butt, I notice something out of the corner of my eye. Mie is watching us from her table with a most peculiar expression on her face. I know she was listening. When I catch her eye, she loftily looks away, but the calculating expression is not gone from her eyes.

Who is Mie, anyway?

I decide it's time to end my feud with Mie. It was cute at first, but I want it off my mind. That's why I memorized a speech of what I'll say when she comes back from last period. It's basically along the lines of, I'm sorry I made you mad can you forgive me I would have thought you would have known I wouldn't have tried to hurt Keiko and I'm really sooooorrry. I just hope she'll accept it, though I'm not very hopeful.

Aha, there she is. Now for the make-uping process. She steps through the door and then I start to jabber. But she cuts me off.

"Kasumi, don't say anything. I've been a real bitch lately, and I wanted you to know I'm sorry. It's just that I've been getting kind of jealous lately. You make A's on your report card, A's on your projects, you're popular, you're pretty, you're really nice...I mean, it just all got to me. I'm not you and I can't be you, so I got really frusturated with myself. Also, I know that---"

A teacher who had been hammering on the door to get us to shut up now screams, "LADIES KNOCK IT OFF OR YOU WILL SEE A DETENTION!"

We ignore her. "What was that? What else do you know about me?" I ask.

"Nothing." She answers nervously. "Sheesh, it's kinda hot in here, do you mind if I open a window, Kasumi?"

"Sure. And could you call me Katrina? I've already asked everyone else to."

"Ka-tri-na. OK, I got it."

We smile at each other and snuggle under the covers in each of our beds. I hear her snoring pretty quickly, but I lie in bed thinking about what qualities she said she was jealous over. I mean, pretty? No sir. Smart? That was because of Keiko's tutoring. Popular? I have as many friends as she does. Nice? Uh uh. And what was that she was about to say she knew? That I still sleep with a teddy bear called Mister Meister? That I have no dad? That I...Oh well. I'll think about it in the morning. I roll over and fall asleep.

BUMP. THUD. Cursing. Who is doing that? Could it be that teacher again?

I check my new, un-cursed alarm clock. Great, it's 2:36 AM. As I hear more thudding, I get scared. (I always have had a slight fear of the dark!) I hesitantly peek at the doorframe, where a familiar squat figure stands. Damn. What is the Featherbrain doing in here? She is breathing rapidly, and her eyes are glowing ivory with something close to insanity. I brace myself because I can't get out of bed before she'll reach me. I just can't. My bed is right next to the door.

She thuds in softly, but ironically, she skips my bed and heads for Mie's. I watch in horror, completely powerless. For some reason, I can't move at all. Like I'm paralyzed. Genkai told me a little about this paralysis feeling. _How did she say to cure it...?_

I watch, terrrified. She holds up a shiny object---A KNIFE! She wrenches open the hangings of Mie's bed and thrusts violently. I hear a strangled cry and I suddenly see power coursing through Beauty's knife to her body in greenish waves. She laughs like the murderer she is. Murderer...

Something inside of me snaps. _I will save Mie. I won't be paralyzed. Mie will die if I give in to it._

NOW I remember what Genkai told me. 'If your will is strong enough, you can break through any barrier...' That's just what I'm doing. Concentrating...c'mon, c'mon...

I did it! I can move again!

Furiously, I lunge at Beauty after throwing off the covers of my bed. She gasps and releases the knife. She tries to move away but I'm too quick. We wrestle furiously, and I see beads of sweat appear on her face. She's much stronger now than last time, though. It must be the power she accumulated from Mie. But suddenly, her powers reach their limit, and with the last bit of strength in her fould body, she turns into the 3-eyed crow and escapes my arms. The coward flies out the open window Mie opened earlier this night. DAMN! I'll never catch her now. But I have more pressing matters to deal with.

I arrouse Keiko from the next room and have her look at Mie with me. "Oh god!" Mutters Keiko.

Mie does look a mess, all right. Bleeding all over her pajamas, she looks nothing less than dead. She's obviously unconcious with pain.

Keiko starts to cry. "We can't tell anyone in the school, they won't believe us," she blubbers. "We have no way of reaching Kurama or anyone either, and we'll be charged of assault, and-and-and possibly murder..." She feels Mie's neck. "She has a pulse now, but later..."

"Don't talk like that, Keiko," I say. Mie couldn't be dead. She wouldn't die. Just...no. She was not dead. She was not dead. I tell Keiko all about Beauty absorbing energy from Mie's body. "Keiko, I think she got the wrong bed. She wanted me, and---"

"Wait a sec. You said she absorbed energy from Mie? As in, like, life energy?"

"I suppose, yeah...why? What difference does it make?"

Keiko looks confused. "Then she should be dead now, if she was a human. Kat, what if she's not?"

I shook my head vigorously, refusing to think about that. "Mie's just...Mie, Keiko. Here, I'll call Hiei on the Commir."

I whip it out from my uniform pocket, and I also feel old, cold radishes. I grimace, but I press the red button and Hiei literally materializes in front of Keiko and I.

"Some chaperone you are," I bend over to snap in his face. "Look what Beauty did to Mie!"

He blinks, and crosses the room over to Mie's bed. A fleeting expression of concern appears on his dwarfy rabbit face.

"I'll bring her to headquarters. You guys come too."

We both look unsure. "What are we supposed to do?" Asks Keiko.

He greatly pronounces rolling his eyes. "Just grab onto me!"

"Arright, arright.." We both do so. And we are whisked away to Genkai's temple.

A/N Like it now, guys? It's gonna get better!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or characters of the show, Katrina is a fictional person.

**Chapter 16: Her Life on the Edge**

As soon as we arrive at the temple Hiei hollers for Genkai with such volume that I wouldn't expect from such a small body.

"GENKAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

She runs from her room, looking very indignant. "What do you goons want? It's 3 AM!"

Hiei merely points. Whatever color there was in Genkai's pale face left it. "Quick, boy, bring her here!" This is the first time I've seen her sound urgent. Nice to know her face isn't always dead.

Hiei lays Mie on a nearby couch. Genkai immediately reaches into Mie with her small gift of healing magic by pressing her fingertips on Mie's temples. She becomes slightly pale. "She's in real trouble."

"Noooooo..." I hear someone saying.

"It's all right Katrina, I think we can still save her..."

_Katrina? I said that? _

"Get Kurama and Yukina."

Keiko runs out to obey, obviously nauseated by all of the blood. Several seconds later Kurama trudges in, followed by Yukina's usual skitter. They say Keiko doesn't want to watch.

"What happened to her?" Asks a horrified Yukina, as she notices the bloody couch and Mie.

"I'll tell you later, just heal her!"

Yukina and Kurama kneel down, synchronized, and place their hands on her stomach wound. Kurama's green power and Yukina's blue-white power combine and start to heal her slowly. Mie stirs, but falls back into her semi-coma. After a while, the two healers stop and rub their aching hands.

"Nothing more we can do but watch and wait," they commented. Kurama begins. "I have some disturbing news, though. And it has nothing to do with her injury," he says, noticing my disturbed face.

"Whaaaaaatttt...." Everyone is drowsy in their reply, even me.

"This girl is a wind demon."

Time stops. Everyone gapes. "Are you sure, Kurama?"

"I recognized her as a Shinobi's cousin, who he takes care of, but I wanted to be sure."

Subject change! I am officially not ready to think about this. "Kurama, how did Beauty suck energy out of Mie? I thought it was a regular knife!"

"I think it must have been an illegal tool of the Spirit World. The victim's energy is sucked out of them into the holder of the weapon. It kills an ordinary human instantly, so that furthers my theory. We'll ask her if she wakes up."

_Not if. **When** she wakes up._

Yukina speaks up. "Someone will have to take down Beauty. She'll keep doing this in her thirst for power, and it will only bring misery." Thanks for the obvious, Yuki-chan!

For a while no one speaks. "Keiko and I have to go back to school before we are missed. But what will we say about Mie?" I ask.

Quiet Hiei finally talks up. "I'll forge something, like a note from her parent. Shouldn't be hard."

Yukina: "Brother, I didn't know you could read!"

Hiei grows red. "Yeah, neither did I, Hiei!" Says Kurama and Yusuke, grinning.

"OF COURSE I CAN, FOOLS!" He grabs a pen from a table and he storms off holding the pen wrong in his left hand.

We all shake our heads. We decide that Kurama will take us back to school, and so he does at exactly 4:00 AM. Keiko and I eagerly go to sleep when we have snuck back into our dorms.

I don't remember where the day went. All I could think about was Mie, and I went to the bathroom every class (thereby expiring my hall pass for a month) to use the Commir to talk to Kurama about it. Each time I received the same answer, slightly more irritated each time, that she was alive but still in shock. I didn't even care that Beauty was clearly avoiding me.....I just didn't care.

Now it's nighttime and I feel a pang every time I look at Mie's empty bed. I should have been sucked dry, not her. Of all things to make a mistake on. I can't believe she never told me she was a demon also. She was going to tell me that she knew of my powers last night, but lost her nerve. She should have told me, because that could have really straightened things out between us. Also, I wonder how she found out. If she had discovered it because she'd seen me morphing, then someone else could have seen it, too. I'm still kicking myself for meeting him in the parking lot, in plain view. I was so...damn...obvious...I pound my bed angrily.

_If she dies, I'll never forgive myself._

As I'm stewing in my guilt, the Commir glows green. I stare at it, not sure if I want to hear the news it inevitably brings. It could mean that Mie is...dead. Or maybe it could mean that she pulled herself out of the hole. I grab it slowly, my fingers shaking. I cross all of my fingers and toes and hope for the best.

"Speaking."

"Glad you picked up." It's Hiei. "Your friend, well, she's probably gonna make it. It's gonna take several weeks, though. And---" I don't hear the last part. I am too ecstatic and am also screeching. I wake up Keiko, and tell her the good news. Though she is happy that Mie will be okay, she warns me never to wake her up again. I grin happily and agree. I snuggle under the covers after switching off the Commir, finally without a guilty conscience.

A/N I'm thinking about wrapping up the crow-woman saga, and then she'll get to search for her dad in the Spirit World in Chapter 20. This whole thing was just a side quest, by the way. This was just a way of making her prove herself to the YYH gang:)


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I think you know by now. Anyway, (sigh) Katrina is a fictional character and Katrina is a fictional character. And I don't have a very original title here, but oh well.

To Signed reviewers only:

AnimeFreak54: You are too kind. Your review kindness is matched only by that of RebelWriter. (Sniff) YOU'RE ALL TOO KIND!

WHile I'm talking about RW, here is my word to you: Thanks for being so nice all of the time!

RoseMaiden: Thanks for saying my story is...erm...interesting. You're also too kind. (rolls eyes)

Spunkykitty: Since you like my story so much, you must have really good taste! Lol y don't you put up a story yourself?

SilentViolence: Hehe, you may be my bro, but thanks anyway.

Dumbbland83: Did I spell it right? Anyway, thankies for the review!

FrozenSerenity: Thanks. Sometimes I don't even understand Katrina myself.

Kumaru Yeoman; Thanks for your thanks on the warning review.

Smiles4100: Well, you reviewed my old What Happened To My Life, so I wanted to thank you for that right now.

Cya, and read up!

**Chapter 17: Only One Will Live, Only One Will Die**

But my worries were by no means over yet. I found that out but a week later. At this time, I was preparing for bed, after a long night of working with Keiko on a new science project. Even though I'm on Christmas vacation. It basically has to do with chemistry and why the noble gases can't bond with anything and what's the difference between a stable and unstable atom---damn. I don't even remember what Keiko drilled into me this whole night! I would have loved to go on the wrestling field trip for boys. All right, I'm not the best wrestler, and I don't think highly of the sport, which is only a couple of fame-hungry jocks pretending to kill each other. but at least they didn't get a project...

I throw myself onto my bed, a hopeless mess. _What is happening to me lately? I'm falling apart. And I even know Mie is going to be okay...so what could it be? This shouldn't be happening. _

Mie would be okay. She would. She was recovering fine. Hiei had said so. She would be all right.

I'm drilling this into my head like one of Spinach-Jelly's lessons. Drilling it so hard, in fact, that I don't even notice my mirror heating up. Suddenly it feels like a streak of fire and knocks me back to Earth. Rather hard, in my opinion. I hastily pick it up, wondering if my caller has given up and left already.

"Speaking," my voice comes out a whisper.

"About time you picked up!" Snarls an all-too-familiar voice. I see Hiei glaring at me through the other end. I smile my apology at him and he turns slightly red. I'd turn red, too, if I saw myself looking at me like the way I am now. "Listen, Yukina's made another discovery with this whole energy sucking knife thing.'

"Really? Tell me! ...I mean, no. I can tell by your tone of voice that I don't want to know."

He grimaces. "Yeah, you probably don't. Beauty used an illegal maneuver, where she took Mie's powers and transferred some of hers to Mie. Beauty, must be destroyed to destroy the "poison" inflicting her."

"Wha-what? How does it work?"

"Okay, to put it into small terms, Beauty placed some of her essence in Mie's frail body using the illegal move, called the Hundrun Maneuver or something, while drawing out Mie' essence. Sort of like a life/energy switch."

I nod, understanding.

"So, now that Beauty's weaker essence is swimming aorund inside Mie, her soul is being starved."

Wait, what? "Rewind!" I've never seen Hiei as a scholar. The result is frightening.

He snorts impatiently. "Mie's soul is used to living off of a certain amount of life/spirit energy. Because Beauty was both older and weaker, therefore having less Spirit/life energy, Mie's soul isn't getting the amount of power it is used to, so it's dying. Over a longer period, Mie's soul could supposedly adjust to the decrease in life span, but not this fast. Katrina, Mie's getting worse. So slow that we couldn't realize it. but now it's getting serious." He shows me a picture of Mie on the couch. Her knees are drawn up to her chest as though she can't breathe.

"DAMNIT, SO HOW DO WE STOP IT???"

"Someone must kill the holder, in this case, Beauty. Once she is dead, whatever misplaced essence in Mie's body will leave it, whereas her normal essence will return. Then she will be healthy again. Kurama, Genkai, and Yukina would take Beauty out themselves, but they must watch over your friend. Yusuke and Kuwabara can't, they're on that stupid wrestling field trip. Botan can't fight, of course, and I have other affairs to attend to."

"What affairs?"

"None of your business, ningen. There's just you left to fight her. Genkai knows you've been trained well, so she'd like you to do it. It's your choice though. Beauty's death---or Mie's."

I drop the Mirror. A cold, glittering hate fills my lungs, living in the air I breathe. I pick it up again. My hands shake with anger. How could this jerk even think I would sacrifice my friend? "That's easy, you jerk. Beauty dies."

Hiei twists his mouth nervously. "Some words of advice : Beauty is always going to try to intimidate, or get you mad enough to let her escape carelessly. This isn't another battle with Yusuke, Katrina, because she is a real demon. They all have lots of stamina. Try to corner her tomorrow."

"Or tonight..."

He nods. "Or tonight. But you got time. Mie's death should result in about several days."

"I've made up my mind. See ya, Hiei." I switch off my Mirror. If that calculation was incorrect, Mie might not live till tomorrow. I have to kill Beauty tonight. But I do feel sick at the thought of killing. What will it be like?

I shake myself. _I have to.Wasn't I always the kickass type in America? Why not here?_

_But I wan't fighting demons back then._

_But what can I do?_

_She can't do this to Mie. How dare that asshole lay a hand on her. But why "poison" Mie like that? She could get all the power she wanted just from one thrust of that foul knife. What was the point of poisoning her too?_

I don't even realize it when I reach her room. I peer inside, a little apprehensive. I have been mad, but never enough to kill. Again, what will killing be like?

There she is. The ugly stupid weird crazy insane strange awful unattractive odd horrible terrible no-good very bad evil little bitch herself. Rage wells in my heart again. _She's the reason Mie is dying._

I open the door so hard that it slams against the wall. She jumps and turns around to stare at me.

"Why, are you here, _kitty_?" Yup. She knows who I am, all right.

"Just wanted some tutoring," I say sarcastically through clenched teeth. "You poisoned my friend, you animal. You had all of the power you needed, yet you still wanted to take her life. WHY?"

"She wasn't all I needed, Katrina. She was an exponentially weaker demon in comparison to you. (ohhhh she used a BIG word) I thought I was stabbing _you_. Of course I couldn't have you blab who had done it. So I needed you dead. And the power wouldn't have been mine to keep anyway, so it didn't matter.. But, due to a hatred of the smell of radishes, I decided to take her out instead, hoping she was you. For I hate radishes above all, they poison me..." She puts her hands over her mouth in horror, lowers them, and continues. "I got the wong girl, that was all. How unfortunate..." She pretends to be sorry.

_Those radishes, that I stuffed in my pocket that same day! They saved me! If I live, I'll eat vegetables every day for the rest of my life._

"Why did _you_ come here, then?"

"To avenge Mie's pain. You'll pay for that, you bitch."

"Such a good person." I notice her look side to side. "Like your father."

I stare at her. "What do you know about him???"

She smiles sinisterly, and morphs into the crow the fastest yet. Ironically, she doesn't fly away. "We'll fight in the gym, dear. You won't get that secret out of me, though. But here's a hint: it has to do with my employer." She soars out to the gym through an open window. I jump on the window frame and leap out like the panther I am. I jump on the rooves of the school after her. She soars into the huge gym this school has, which is an entirely separate building. I follow her close behind. Then she morphs back into a human and becomes a crow again, when we are standing on opposite ends of the gym. I guess this is a futile attempt to try to psych me out.

"You aren't running away. Why?" I ask. This is a new side of her. And why did she say she had an employer? And what did she mean by ' the power wasn't hers to keep anyway?' Could someone else be pulling the strings in this whole twisted, sick operation?

"I'll prove to you I'm the better demon. That's why."

I'm confused. "But you're weak!"

"Mie had power, girl. Not as much as you, but more than enough to crush you with, when combined with my own powers." She starts to change. She's growing bigger and bigger before my eyes, from a small figure to a dragonish creature. Her feathers become scales, her head grows, her beak becomes a mouth full of 6 inch long teeth, and her wings expand to form dragonfly-like bat wings where once was ugly black feathering. I'm sensing power, which is really increasing incredibly rapidly. _How could Mie, sweet little Mie, have concealed that much energy?_

_But she didn't,_ I realize. _I just didn't know how to look for it._

Beauty is laughing devilishly. "Who's superior now, girl?" She laughs even more.

I stare at her in awe mixed with fear. A fully fledged dragon, 23' long with green scalage and lacey bat wings (for all of you pokemon fans, she resembles the legendary pokemon Rayquaza). Even in the dark, I can tell her exact shape by a greenish light being emitted by her long body. Now, she's definitely a force to be reckoned with. I become aware of my shaking hands.

"Well," I say coldly. "You are a giant flying lizard. I'm petrified." i hide my hands behind my back as I do so. Genkai taught me to never let enemies know when you're afraid. Now, I definitely need that skill.

"You should be. Before I had Mie's power, I was weak, very weak. But with this wind power, I can become anything at will. And---"

"Save it for someone who cares!" I say harshly. "Get on with it!"

"As you wish." Without warning, she lunges for me with her gigantic head. I leap out of the way just in time and her muzzle hits the floor. I eye the crater she just made. _That might have been me._

She lunges again, and I dodge again. Then I lunge with a huge leap into the air and she runs/flies out of the way. I land on all fours. Several more futile attempts... _Is this how it's going to be? Neither of us can touch the other, so how can one of us win? _

"You're pretty fast," she says, panting.

"You too." I agree.

"Not fast enough, though."

"Wha---" I don't get the chance to say anything else. Her giant tail whips out of nowhere and strikes me in the middle of my body, around my waist area. God, that hurt.

I hear chuckling. It's me. I transform much quicker this time. When I open my eyes, I see the nighttime world through the sharp night-vision of the panther. My coat also helps me blend into the dark. At seven feet tall, my clothes all ripped off, Beauty is looking a little shocked.

"So you're a cat." She doesn't sound quite as cocky as before.

"Yep." I charge, and make a clean slash on her neck. She yelps in pain. She growls, a deep rumbling roar, and lunges for a counter attack. I dodge easily, admiring my newfound strength. She tries again and I dodge again. Then I make another clean hit on her tail.

Her eye twitches and she draws in a huge breath of air, as if sucking for something else. Something happens to my body. I notice immediately. I'm no longer hairy. I'm a girl again. A naked girl.

"Did I forget to mention that I have the power to suck energy from others if I have enough energy myself?" She siles meanly.

Not good. Sooooo not good. How can I beat her as a human girl? I rack my brain for anything that might help. _Anything..._ A vision comes to me. Genkai dancing, pointing at my plate...

In my struggle to remember, Beauty hits me double in the head with her noggin and her tail, one after the other. I hit the wall on the opposite side of the gym. The bitter scent of her scales reminds me of something I hate..._Radishes! They're poison to her!_

I try to search for my uniform. It's on the other side of the gym. Crap. That's where the radishes are! They are my only chance.

I desperately run to my uniform. "RUNNING WILL GET YOU NOWHERE!" Beauty taunts.

_Almost there..._

"ASHAMED OF BEING NAKED, ARE YOU?" she says, obviously aware of what I'm going for.

_She really doesn't remember!_

She tries to crush me 3 times with that massive tail, but I leap over it each time. _Almost there---_

Damn! Beauty leaps in front of my uniform, grinning a dragon's grin. It's not something that is comforting to see unless you're two thousand or more miles away. She laughs, and swings at me again, this time with a small, yet sharp claw. I jump out of the way so I only receive a glancing blow, which still hurt a lot, by the way. She uses my recovery time to try again, but I'm prepared. I camouflage.

"WHAT?! I drained your energies!"

"You did," I whisper for effect. "I had some in reserve." This is actually not true, though. Camouflage doesn't require spirit energy, just like Hiei's speed doesn't require spirit energy. It comes in the package with the panther power. I leap over her tail which is resting on the ground and---

_GOT IT! _I search through the pocket of the skirt, and-THERE THEY ARE! I pull out the greasy, moldy rotten things and hide them in the palm of my hand. I make myself visible again. Then I act like I'm pulling on my clothes.

It doesn't take her long to discover where I am. Without warning, she lunges. I knew she wouldn't give me time to get changed, so I counter-lunge at the same time. _If I can get to that slash on her neck..._

As she ducks her head down to try to squash me into the ground, I leap up onto the top of her head and run like all hell to her shoulder wound. She roars, seeing what I'm trying to reach, and thrashes, trying to throw me off. I hold on to a bony plate on her back with my hands and toes. I inch toward it and when I get within touching range of the gash, I throw in the old radishes. Then I leap off and land on my butt, instead of waiting for her to throw me. She screams in agony as an acid-like blue subsance pours out of the wound, dissolving her body. Finally the acid engulfs her, and she emits one final shriek and vanishes. I see a white thing streak out from the dissolving mess, but I assume that was Mie's power.

_She's really gone._

I whoop for joy, and pull on my ripped clothes, which don't cover much up anyway now, and trudge back to my dormitory. I'm so glad ordinary people can't hear demon battles or shrieks of demons. I call Kurama on the Commir and tell him I won, then switch off in the middle of one of his sentences. _So damn tired..._

__

I wake up in bed. I'm still in my ripped excuse for a uniform, but I'm not in my dorm. I'm in the room Genkai reserved for me and Keiko. Keiko is also in the next bed, sleeping of course. It's as though nothing ever happened. I walk downstairs, holding the sheet over my body to cover most of myself up. I see Genkai, who looks up at me and beams. Kurama, Kuwabara, Yukina, Botan, and the rest are all studying me with proud looks on their faces. Plus one more...

"MIE!"

She runs towards me at the same time I do her. "You're freakin' alive!"

"Well, you saved me! Kurama filled me in on all of it, how you defeated Beauty last night, everything, you know!"

"Don't thank me," I say ruefully. "Thank my hatred of radishes."

A/N Adventure 1 comes to a close. Now we can get back to her dad:) But even so, I have over 50 chapters completed, so it might be a while.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: DON'T OWN YYH! KATRINA IS A FICTIONAL CHARACTER!

Tracey, you had better be happy that I updated!

**Chapter 18: Happy Times**

****

Mie just looks at me. "Your _radishes?_"

"Yep," I agree happily. "All because I didn't eat Genkai's radishes."

Genkai grows red. "You didn't eat the radishes? Grrrrrrrrrrrr."

"But Genkai, those radishes saved my life! Those old, cold, moldy disgusting tokens of the devil were a stroke of luck, a token of life! Cause they did save---"

Genkai walks out of the room, obviously very pissed. "You'd think I stabbed someone with them, the way she's acting," I muttered to Keiko and Mie. They giggle. Keiko murmurs "but you did the next step up, you dissolved someone with them." More laughter. It seems like I haven't laughed like this with my friends in a long time.

"Well," says Kurama. "We could use luck like that, you know. Maybe you can join our team and we can look for your dad."

"MY DAD!" I yell suddenly, realizing a horrible fact. "BEAUTY SAID SHE KNEW SOMETHING ABOUT HIM BUT I KILLED HER BEFORE SHE COULD TELL ME SO!"

"Really?"

"That's a shame."

"Maybe she could have told us what the demon's weakness is..."

I sigh. "If I had only remembered..."

"Speaking of your dad," says Hiei. "That's the affair I was working on last night. I couldn't tell you because then you wouldn't fight Beauty, you would just help me, to hell with what I wanted, look for more clues. I got a really good lead. Basically, we found some hair of your father's, and it was on a robe of a demon. We are identified the genes of the person wearing the robe, and they all point to another lowly demon named Parasi. We just need to catch them to find out about their employer. It's going to be like finding a needle in a haystack, but we are tracing him through a transmitter left on the robe. I think the chief of the organization was afraid his own henchmen would turn on him, so he tracked their every move."

"So then if we find the leader, we'll find my dad?"

"Theoretically, yes."

"Let's get cracking, then!" I say happily. "Show me the trans-whatever thingy!"

5555555555555555555555(this is the only way I can show thought changers)

"BEAUTY'S DEAD? BUT THAT CAN'T BE...SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO KEEP A LOW PROFILE IN THE HUMAN WORLD TO BRING KURAMA TO ME..."

"M'master, I'm disappointed too, but apparently she fought a powerful demon and was killed by the acidic poisoning of radishes. She didn't stand much chance against such a powerful demon..."

"WHICH DEMON? KURAMA, I PRESUME?"

"No, sir, this one be a girl! A daughter of his."

"A daughter? He had a daughter...did he?" The demon Sensu turned toward the energy cage surrounded by a protective force field. "Tatewaki, son, did you have a daughter?"

"Whaaa---no," said a tortured voice, "I had only Kurama."

"Why do my sensors tell me you are lying?"

"Cause f--- your sensors, you beast."

Sensu chuckled. "That's improper Japanese, my friend."

"Oh is it, bastard?"

"That's right. What powers does she have? Tell me, boy! TELL ME!" Sensu pressed a button, and the cage lit up with electricity. An anguished scream sounded from inside.

"Now do you feel like talking?"

"No..."

"Play it your way, then." More electricity. More pain. Sensu laughed cruelly. He would get it out of him soon. Because if Kurama was too crafty to be caught, he would settle for another family member, and Tatewaki's undoubtebly weak daughter would do just fine. His experiment required two of the Kon line, and he was half-way there. The daughter would be easy.

"M-master?"

"What?"

"Beauty's just called. She wants to meet with you soon. Says she's found a replacement."

He laughed. "Tell the weak coward it can be arranged."

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As I was taken back to school with Mie and Keiko, I hugged myself with pleasure. I was now an official member of the most revered team in the Spirit World. That's what they told me anyway. Probably just an ego thing. Even Genkai was proud of me (WOOHOO), despite her disappointment of my neglecting the radishes. The rest of my extended friends will depart for the Spirit World soon. They don't know if Mie, Keiko and I will come or not. They said they still had to figure out how to smuggle me out of school for so long and somehow hide the fact that I was gone from my mother. But in truth, I think they just don't want to hurt my feelings. They probably think I'll get in the way.

Another piece of good news is that Mrs. Yukimura came back to teach Japanese History. I'm glad she swallowed the story about the Featherbrain moving out to another island. I still don't know how the rest of the gang managed to cover that up, but they somehow pulled it off. (I wonder if Hiei's katana had anything to do with it.)

So everything is good here, so far. I can't wait for my (possible) adventures later!

This rainy night, Mie and Keiko are in my dorm, watching Mie control winds. She concentrates on nothing Keiko and I can see and then creates a breeze, even though no windows are opened. Then they turn to me to watch me camouflage in a...never...ending...cycle...

"Keiko," I say exhaustedly, after my 12th camouflage, "How many times do you have to see this before it's enough?"

"Keiko, she's right," Mie looks nearly as tired as me. "Beauty drained most of my energy, remember?" It was true. It took Mie a lot of effort to recharge her lost power, and she still wasn't fully recovered. "Whadaya say we finish this another day?"

"B-but...BUT I'M NOT A DEMON! IT'S JUST NOT FAIR! I HAVE TO WATCH THIS OR ELSE I'LL DIE!" She cries onto her pillow so fakely that I burst out laughing.

"Keiko, give it up already! Be glad you aren't a demon!"

"Why should I? I mean, it sounds and looks so cool!"

Mie is looking annoyed. "But it's not cool! I've had to watch my powers forever, so as not to create a tornado when I'm mad inside! In fact," she turns to me. "I'm surprised you didn't notice my demon energy. I didn't know myself I was so good at concealing it! I never thought there were others like me besides my parents---"

"---Oh yeah. I keep forgetting to ask you this. Mie, where are your parents?"

Her face darkens considerably. "My mom ran off and left me so she could participate in Spirit World action. She broke my dad's and my heart. My dad shot himself, he was so lonely. I was raised by my cousin, Jin, until I came here. She, my mother so to speak, was cruel, and she made me promise to never say anything about my, or somebody else's, demonic power. That thing I was going to say...I also know you're a...I meant to say demon. I could sense your power, even before you transformed, slowly growing inside of you. It wasn't hard." She shudders. "You have a lot of power, Katrina. More than I'll ever hope to have."

My god. Her hellhole case made my life seem full of candy. Maybe this was why she was so quiet. "Now come on! You don't know that!"

"It's all right Katrina. We all have our strengths." She switches off her lamp on her bedside table. Keiko seemingly leaves for her room. Taking it as a sign to go to sleep, I conk out on my bed.

Two minutes later they wake me up. "What is it?!" I growl.

Keiko. "I wasn't leaving, silly, I was just going to get my diary so we can read it aloud."

I stare at her. "Your diary. Please say you are kidding."

"Yep," she says, her brown eyes showing irresistible pleading in them.

I fiercely bite back the urge to maul her, slowly and painfully, and pull myself into a sitting position on my bed. This is gonna be a long, long, long, long night.

I wake up in my bed. Now when did Keiko finish? I seriously don't remember. It was that long.

I realize what woke me up. The Commir is glowing white hot. I pick it up, hating my caller.

"WHATTTTTTTTT?!?!?!"

I could have sworn Kurama's hair blew back on the other end. "I just wanted to say that you're coming to the Spirit World. In less than week."

A/N Hoped you liked the last fight scene, I tried to be creative, dunno if I succeeded. Review!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH, Katrina is a fictional character. And I am thinking of changing my name...what could it be? Icy Pheonix sux, so help!

**Chapter 19: Hiei**

"REALLY?!" YES! He's gonna let me!

"Yes," He looks glad to see me so happy. "Hiei will pick you up. Mie and Keiko are coming later in the year."

I groan. "CAN SOMEONE, MEANING YOU, tell me why it's always Hiei? Why can't it ever be you? Or even that idiotic Botan???"

Kurama actually giggles. A 15 year old boy giggling. Ugh. Not something you want to see very often. He kind of stuffs his knuckles in his mouth and chews on them. As in a toddler. "Well, I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but he always volunteers first. We don't even have to force him."

"H-he does?" Okay, not expecting that blow to my self-conscious. He caught me off guard.

"I think he _enjoys_..." Laughter. "Your---" Explosion of laughter. "Company..." I can see him rolling on the ground. Jeez, what is so funny?

I do my best to ignore him. "Well, that's a compliment, coming from Hiei."

"Oh, IT IS!"

"KURAMA, TELL ME WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE GETTING AT!"

"You're...sooo...dense..." More annoyingly high-pitched laughter. Gee, he is such an imbecile.

"DENSE TO WHAT?"

"It's so damn_ obvious..._"

I get ready to scream, but reel myself in just in time. It really wouldn't be good to wake the whole dormitory up at 6:00! I'd have a mob of sleep-deprived zombies after me.

I take a deep breath. "Okay, what are you talking about already?"

More laughing. Then he hangs up. Quite rudely. He can't have meant...no...

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I read silently. I'm in Mrs. Yukimura's class, and as celebration for her return, she is giving out no homework today and we have 100 percent free time. I'm reading, even though I should be doing the work Spinach-Jelly's sub gave us. Most of the kids are behaving like animals, except for me. No one is bothering to act their age. I'm trying to shut out Kanerusa's loud, booming voice. I slam my book, "Call of the Wild" shut. Put it this way: IT'S NOT WORKING. A wolf trying to find his place in the wolves is nowhere near enough.

But Kanerusa isn't the only thing I'm trying to shut out. Kurama's words won't stop haunting me. I've figured out the meaning to the best of my ability. I mean, how would Kurama know if Hiei liked me or not? I don't think he does. Why would he? Hiei hates everyone I know for no good reason. It doesn't make sense why he should have focused on me. There is no reason. Kurama is just getting used to being a bro and is trying to ruin my life. Maybe I should get used to that.

Kurama also didn't tell me how I was going to get out of school to begin with. I just hope Hiei doesn't don the nun cape again. In that suit, he would have been able to crack a mirror just by looking into it. It's also the only time I've seen him look embarrassed in my life.

Except when he looked at me.

_AHHHHHHHHHH! BRAIN, SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! NOT TRUE NOT TRUE_!

I'm hitting myself with an english textbook. Kanerusa is not the only one staring.

"Katrina, are you okay?"

"Other than planning my suicide, yes."

She looks uneasily at me, as does everyone else, but eventually talk bubbles up again. I'm ready to shoot myself by the time the bell rings. Panting as though I've run a mile, I stagger out through the door. I am confronted by Flomiki. It's one of the few times I've been unhapppy to see her pretty face.

"What's the matter, Katrina? You look like someone just asked you out!"

"Not quite..." I mutter, brushing past her and leaving her with a puzzled expression on her face. When I am almost to math class, the teacher being Mrs. Yetta, the loudspeaker turns on.

'KATRINA KON, PLEASE COME TO THE OFFICE, KATRINA KON TO THE OFFICE.'

There's my cue. It must have to do with me being smuggled out of school. I run to the office at top speed, which is not safe to do in a crowded hallway. I achieve everything, from 'Excuse yous' to fingers, from all those in the hallway who I bump into. Not that I can really blame them. For some reason, Jap people seem to be very thin, and their bones catch me at every angle. I'm hurting myself.

When I arrive at the office several minutes later, I stuff my fist in my mouth. Hiei is on stilts! I can't look him in the eyes. I'll burst out laughing.

"Ahhh, Miss Kon," begins the principal, a droopy, balding man. "Your...er...father is here to pick you up and take you on vacation in the southern islands. You will be gone most of the rest of the year, which will be about 3 months. Since it is February, you should be back in May," He adds, as if I didn't know. "Please enjoy your vacation, folks."

Hiei turns sharply, nearly falling over. I follow him. "So, _Dad,_ which island will we be visiting?"

Hiei just grunts and motions me out, even though he doesn't seem to have mastered the usage of stilts yet, and he keeps swiveling. As we leave, I hear one of the secretaries say, "I thought Miss Kon's father was deceased...and that guy looked quite young...let me get the papers..."

"Yes," agrees the principal. "Her father looked quite young..."

"That's our ticket out of here," I hiss urgently. "GO!" I shove him out so fast that his stilts leave skid marks.

We run out to a parked car. I'm not sure if it's ours to take or not, but Hiei doesn't care. He gets off his stilts with some difficulty and pulls some keys out of his pocket. Then he looks at the car. And looks. And looks some more, obviously very, very confused.

I curl my lip. "I'll drive!"

He looks at me in surprise. "You? But you're thirteen!"

"Sixteen's no better, pal. Besides, it looks easy, don't be such a pessimist." I grab the keys from his hand and open the car. Then I jump in the drivers seat and Hiei sits in the passenger seat. Then I start up the car.

I press on the gas tentatively. I back out of the parking lot with surprising ease. Then I put the pedal to the metal.

Five minutes into our drive, something occurs to me. "Hiei, where exactly are we going?"

"I have absolutely no idea." Hiei is frozen with fear of my vicious driving. "Oh yeah, we go to the Tokyo Interstate Train Station. We meet the Spirit King in a nearby meadow."

"OH! I know where that is!" ZOOM!

"I never knew driving could be this much fun!" I say enthusiastically, trying to lighten up the mood that Hiei is sporting. He looks sick.

I grumble, and stare out the window, checking in front of me every once in a while. I suddenly notice something. Mr. Spinach-jelly is in the car next to mine. Now I know why he had a sub.

"Eeeeeeeek!" I screech. 'That's my teacher, that's my teacher, HIDE!" I don't have time to do anything else. I grab Hiei's head, twist him around me, and press his face against the window. Mr. Spinach-Jelly, from what I can see of him, because I only have a slight view past Hiei's cheek, is staring at Hiei's mashed face like he would a bomb. After a while a nervous staring, he pulls up ahead of our car.

I peel Hiei's cheek away from the window. "Sorry!"

"Never mind that," he says, massaging the right side of his face. "Watch the road. I never thought humans had such horrid transportation systems." He mutters as an afterthought.

I study him. He's kind of red. Is he mad? Or just annoyed? Or is it just because of the window mark? Or both?

"Watch the road!" He says when he catches me staring at him, turning redder, possibly from rage at my stupidity.

"I AM!!" A few more minutes of this general clash of personalities continues, and then I pull us into the train station. "WE'RE HERE!"

"Stop being so frickin' happy!" He growls, his redness fading. He looks up at the digital clock. "The time is 13:24 already? But our train comes at 4:00!"

"Hiei, can you answer one thing truthfully to me?"

"What?"

"You can't really read, can you?"

Silence.

"Hiei, there's no such time as 13:24."

"All right, so I can't. No one ever taught me," he growls.

I laugh.

"I knew you'd laugh."

I stop. "I could teach you. How to read, anyway."

He shruggs. "If ya want."

I smile at him. He actually gives a tiny smirk in reply. From Hiei, that is a major good start.

Since it is only 3:09 now, Hiei and I wait on a park bench. He explains to me that the train stop we are headed for is near a meadow where a portal to the Spirit World exists.

After that, Hiei doesn't talk much. Mostly because I'm teaching him numbers, and he looks lke he's having the time of his life. Really sad.

"So, so this one here's a-a ten? COOL!" But an hour later, even his enthusiam is wearing thin, so I call it quits. He sits with his eyes wide on the left side, I sit on the right. We just watch all of the people going by and wait for our train to arrive.

'4:00. TRAIN IN SECTION 3 HAS ARRIVED. IT IS 4:00.' I watch as a copper colored engine pulls up in one of the stations.

"That's us! C'mon, Hiei! C'mon!" Hiei seems to be in a daze. I tap his shoulder, flick him, make faces, but it's like he's meditating or something. I grab his hand and drag him over to the shiny train. For such a small freak, he's awfully heavy. I notice his shirt is ripping. Too bad for him, the way I see it.

"A fine time to do yoga," I grumble. I make my way to the ticket booth with much difficulty and fish the tickets out of Hiei's back pocket.

The ticket master watches me warily. "Hello sir (gasp) I'm here for (gasp) the 4 (gasp) o'clock train (gasp)." I say exhaustedly. (pantpant) "I would like 2nd class seats, please."

"And your friend? He would be with you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Make sure he's buckled in. You may pass."

Hmmm. I was expecting more of a fight than that. At the very least, Hiei looks drunk, if not dead. I guess that guy's really seen too much of them to care.

I board the second place car, still tugging Hiei's limp body. I drag him over to the nearest empty two seats and place him in one. Roughly, cursing his not-so-fine time to take a nap, I strap him in. I feel like a parent, and Hiei's a full 3 years older than me. Hiei sure isn't as tough as he acts. I mean, Hiei napping? Who'd've thought?

We take off. About halfway through the 2 hour long ride, Hiei starts to snore. Quite loudly. Another quality I would not have expect from such a small teen. People in seats near him move to different ones. That's how incredibly annoying it is. My god, I should learn mind control. Or at least snore control.

An hour later, I'm going to scream. Hiei's snoring is like the Chinese water torture, only much worse. Much, much worse. When I'm about to really knock him out, he rolls over and his head falls on the floor. If he wasn't dead before, he is now. Playing the nice person, I try to get it off. But it is stuck there. Almost as if it were glued there.

After five minutes of struggling, I give up. Maybe he really is tired out. I got that bored when I was learning numbers too. I giggle. My anger is softened, but he's still going to get it when he wakes up.

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A/N Please don't lose faith in me yet! This was another normal chapter, but it would be too long if I put in the portal also. Review!


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH...(yawn) or...Katrina, as-she-is-only-a-fictional-character...(snore)

And I finally know what FYI means!

**Chapter 20: The Spirit Portal (finally)**

We've finally made it to the town nearest the deserted meadow we are headed to.

Also, Hiei's actually stirring. I really was beginning to think he was dead. This is what a fire demon waking sounds like:

'Roooorrrroorrrrrrshnukshnuk...' And that's only a yawn. Hiei must really need his sleep, all right.

"HIEI! HIEI!" I shake him again. "WAKE THE HELL UP!!!!" People are turning to stare at me, and not in the kindest manner either.

"What...AUGH!" He must have thought my black hair falling around my face made me look evil, because now that it's nighttime, I'm in the dark. Well, I am evil, so he was half right.

"YOU BUFFOON! I'VE BEEN TRYING TO WAKE YOU FOR HOURS!"

"Really?" He looks so confused it takes all my willpower not to smack some sense into that tiny little cranium. "I really couldn't be awoken?"

I growl. "Obviously, but...oh who cares! Not you, of course! This is our stop, you know, Teeny! Jeez, whoever heard of the escort forgetting where to get off..."

"I'm not tiny, nor your escort," he says, almost sullenly. "Let's just go..."

We both walk off the train steps, pissed at each other. We passs many buildings in the town we have arrived in. Hiei seems to be fascinated with CinnaBons, which for some reason really pisses me off even further. I also see a little beggar girl, half hidden in shadow, with mousy brown hair. I offer to give her some money, for she looks hungry, but Hiei steers me away, because that seems to piss HIM off. All through the town, we fight over everything to stick-up hair to how many cracks are in the sidewalk.

I trip over a stray piece of wood, and Hiei laughs. I growl. "Hiei," I say, "IT'S NIGHTTIME! We can't hike all the way from this blasted smoky town to the meadow tonight!"

"OH yes we can."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yuh-huh."

"Nuh-uh."

Now sparks are coming out of Hiei's ears now. "LOOK, JUST HOLD ON TO ME, OKAY? REMEMBER MY SPEED POWER?"

"EWWW, I'm not touching you. You probably have germs or viruses or---" Okay, so I don't care at all, but I'm not about to tell him that. Where would teh fun be of annoying him?

Hiei rolls his eyes and grabs my forearm in a rather strong grip. Then I feel the most interesting sensation. Like an awful lot of wind in my face. I shut my eyes to block out the rush of air and the blur of color and when I open them again, I'm in a huge prairie. Hiei lets go of me and motions me to follow him. Figuring I've done enough whining for one day, (Yes I know I'm being a brat) I follow him without complaint. Now it is almost totally dark out. I keep stumbling over hidden rocks, once falling flat on my face.

"Ergh.." I kick the rock angrily, a bit harder than I normally would have, and I swear it soars into the stratosphere. The part of the stratosphere right above Hiei's head. I close my eyes, waiting for the impact of rock on cranium, but nothing comes. I tentatively open my eyes, and see Hiei sheathing his katana sword. Two pieces of rock are on his left and right sides.

He definitely has style.

"How on Earth do you DO that?"

He ignores me, but I don't say anything concerning it. I don't want to mess with a very pissed Hiei right now. I mean, I would be pissed if someone threw a rock at me, and I also don't know if he knows I did it by accident.

I follow him for what seems like another hundred miles, (I never liked walking) then he stops abruptly. I accidentally run into him. He glares at me, and looks around.

"Oh, hello, Hiei," says a fruity voice. "And I suppose that's Katrina?" Hiei crouches and nods at something about knee height.

"Hi, Katrina!" Whatever-it-is leaps in front of me and it extends its hand. I am too perplexed by this creature that has just morphed itself in front of me. Talk about bizzarre. It looks like an overgrown baby complete with a blue pacifier and sleeper. And it's _talking_ to me.

I drag Hiei over. "Why is this thing here?" I hiss in his ear.

Hiei actually laughs. "This 'thing' is the king of the Spirit World, FYI. King Enma JR., or simply Koenma."

'Koenma' withdraws its hand into its sleeper looking hurt. It starts to speak in that weird voice again, but I cut it/him off. "The Spirit World is ruled by a baby. Don't I feel safe."

Instead of being offended like I thought it would be, it only shruggs its tiny shoulders. "Well, that was more or less Yusuke's reaction. At least I'm used to it now."

"Why is it here?" I hiss at Hiei again.

Before Hiei can answer, Koenma starts. "First of all, I would prefer to be called a he, rather than an it. And secondly, I'm here to open the portal for you two."

"A baby can't open the portal!" I scoff. I want to pick a fight with this guy. Test my powers against his. He'd be a good way to take out my anger directed at Hiei. Obviously, I'd so win a fight with it.

"Watch me." Shrimpy pulls a tiny hand from his robes and I notice that his index finger is giving off an eerie bronze colored light. He draws several non-geometric shapes that just hang there in the night air for a while. Then he mutters something like an incantation, and BAM.

It's like he's triggered a mini-earthquake. Several trees fall to the ground like stones. Very heavy stones. The ground is shaking, but the vibration is nothing compared to what is emerging out of it. Wouldn't you be a little intimidated if a huge, swirling golden-green circle summons itself up from the center of the Earth?

Randomly, the ground stops trembling. It takes me a while to get over the shock, but when I do, I know just how to solve the problem.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, DIAPER FACE?" I scream. "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED US! STUPID STUPID THING TO DO, AND---" I resume a Karate stance, and try for Koenma with a right hook. He leaps aside with catlike grace, which I wouldn't expect, and I miss. I glare at him. "YOU JERK---" I stop shouting ahead of schedule to gape. Hiei, laughing hard, has launched himself through the swirling spot. I just see the end of a little green cape vanish.

_Green? Wasn't he wearing a black cape?_

Oh well. The point is that now he's no longer here.

"SEE?! YOU KILLED HIEI with your hypnotic swirly spinny thing! Jerk! Too bad, I kinda liked him," I add as an afterthought.

"Calm down, you silly girl. That hypnotic swirly spinny thing, FYI, is your Spirit Portal. Hiei is merely on the other side, the other side being the Spirit World."

Somewhere beneath my shock I feel a ripple of anger. Silly girl?

"Katrina, just follow me, okay? It'll be fine."

"No."

He looks pained. "Why not?"

"I don't wanna." I never admit when I'm afraid. I notice he's slowly cornering me in front of the swirly thingy.

"Heheheh, Yes, you do. Don't you want to find your dad?"

"Heheh-heheh NO." I imitate that laugh.

"JUST GO!" Even he's starting to get a little pissed.

"NO!"

Then someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn around warily. It's Hiei.

"Hiei, tell the BABY to lay off and---"

Hiei cuts me off, grinning maniacally. He tugs me through the portal. I try frantically to hold onto the edges of the portal, but it's slippery as soap. I let go, and then I really do scream, even though I'm holding onto Hiei's arm so hard that he is complaining of lack of circulation. I'm being tugged backward through a blueish passageway. You know those science videos where the camera goes down someone's esopahagus or whatever? That pretty much sums up what it feels like. Only not quite as slimy. Or red. Just solid blue blurry color.

I have been riding for about 20 minutes now, and I'm starting to relax, though by no means am I ready to let go of Hiei's arm. I can feel something banging around, holding onto Hiei's cloak, but it's probably Koenma. The tunnel is getting foggier and greener.

"How much longer?" I yell to Hiei, to be heard above the rushing water-like sound the tunnel is creating.

He smirks. "Now."

As soon as he says that word, my feet slam into the ground and I let go of him. Dazed and blinking, I stagger around on a bizzarre landscape. No, maybe bizzarre is too much of an understatement. More like supernatural.

I'm somewhere in a mass of greenish fog that's so thick I can't see the others. Even Hiei, who was supposed to be right next to me, is gone. "If this is the Spirit World," I mutter, "Then something is really wrong." Somehow, I pictured a happy little bustling city.

A sound catches my attention. It sounded way too close for comfort. And then---SOMETHING JUST POPPED OUT OF THE FOG!

I start pummeling energy blasts into the area where I saw the beast. I'm taking no chances.

But then again, I've never seen an odder demon. Something with a blue head, a limp, and a stick, that oddly resembles---

A knocked out Botan falls in front of me. Apparently, I was responsible for this little night-night. I crouch down, feeling for a pulse, and measuring what damage I did to her head and the rest of her. Feeling through her with my power, I realize only two of my shots hit, and even they were just glancing blows on her legs. To be knocked out with two glancing shots like those, they would have had to have hit her heart or head. A horrifying thought hits me.

I couldn't have knocked her out, so who did?

Fumbling for a clue of any kind, I speak softly to her, and then I look into her eyes. They are dull with pain. I recognize the symptoms of one who had been in physical pain for a long time. Genkai taught me more than just various attacks.

I notice a rather large, wet rip in her tunic that she always wears on her back, peer inside, and see something to make anyone, even someone with a strong stomach, nauseous. A huge, bloody gash stretches itself across Botan's flesh.

I fight to hold back vomit. Why would someone do this to Botan? From what I know about her, she wouldn't hurt a fly, so no one could have had any reason to attack her. And what became of Mie and Keiko? Botan was to be their escort to the Spirit World, right, back in northern Japan, right?

Well, I know what I have to do now. Somehow carry her out of this fog and get to a rescue center. But damn, I have no experience of this world. At. All. I stare down at her body, then slowly, lift her onto my back in a piggy back format, careful not to touch her wound. I grunt with her weight. I'm not exactly a giant, at 5'7", while Botan's over 6 feet tall. That means she's that much heavier than me. And I can really feel it, too.

It's a very long trudge, made worse by Botan's limp body. I also have no idea where I'm going, either. But something about the place just feels evil, which makes me sure that I can't stay here.

After what feels like 2 hours worth of walking, I see some lights. They look...friendly.

Come closer.

I obediently step foward, somehow feeling happy.

Closer, child.

I see a little camp. There are many people here. Every bone in my body tells me that this place can heal Botan, can bring back my dad, can save the world from being destroyed...

Closer...

What for? Something is asking in a corner of my brain.

Closer...

No...

Closer...NOW.

NO!

COME CLOSER!

"NO!" I shout. And suddenly, something like a spell is broken. These aren't people that are surrounding me. They're demons having of the most vile faces anyone could ever hope to see. Vicious teeth jut from their mouths, their eyes pop out, they drool...just utterly disgusting. They are advancing.

Looks like it's time to fight.

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A/N I now that it means Author's Note! And there's more to come in chapter 21! Review!


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own yyh or the demon with the button (I forget his name). I only claim onto THE FICTIONAL character Katrina and any other characters in the plotline, which is also mine. Thanks!

**Chapter 21: A Battle**

"So, did you guys do this to Botan here?"

They don't answer me. They seem incapable of human speech. But no matter.

Without fair warning, they all charge, forming a lethal circle around me. Typical demons. Can't say I'm surprised. Placing Botan on the ground near me, I allow my fingernails to transform into curved claws and slash at them all viciously, or at least anyone who comes within two feet of me. They fall to the ground pretty fast. I don't balk at killing demons anymore. With the death of Beauty, I realized they are nothing but scum and deserve to be cast to the deepest bowels of hell.

"Who's next?" I yell triumphantly. In my stupid glory, I don't notice the shadow until its too late. I am majorly punched in the back. I crumple to the ground on top of Botan, and I hear a little grunt out of her. I swear my spine snapped. I look up into the cold eyes of my cowardly attacker. Seven feet high, though rather skinny, the blue creature leers down at me.

"Give me the girl," it says in a deep voice.

"No," I answer, realizing he must mean Botan. "Fight me for her."

He grins malevolently. "Bring it on, sweetie."

**Hiei and Koenma's POV:**

"I don't know where such a moron could have gone."

"Now Hiei, we both know she's more than competent on her own. Don't worry about her."

"Look, I don't care if you're the Grim Reaper or Santa Claus: DON'T BOSS ME AROUND!"

"Bossing you around?" Koenma rolls his eyes. "I was merely saying she could handle herself. Botan is the Grim Reaper and Santa Claus is an underpaid indebted high school dropout named Nick. Just last week he was on me again about the problem of fleas in his reindeer...You wouldn't be...worried...now would you?"

Silence. "Nnnnnnnooooooooo. Whaaaaat maaaaakes youuuuuuu saaaaay thaaaaaat?" His voice is very dangerously slow.

"The great Hiei, master of mass murdering and various crimes, the sad teeny orphan boy, has a little crush on Ka---" Koenma wisely stops. He sees Hiei looking at him with eyes like chips of ice, as well as a well placed hand on his katana. He was also well aware that Hiei would do anything if pushed to it.

**Back to our Heroine: **(god that sounded like Pokemon)

I face this demon and size him up. He actually doesn't look that tough. Smart, though.

I think about this until I realize what a fool he is. He first runs at me like a charging rhino. I sidestep him easily and land a nice elbow on his back.

"Like your own move?" I taunt.

"ARGHHHHH!" He runs at me again, and I punch him in the jaw. Again, he goes down. This is way too easy. He should have been a lot harder.

It becomes a routine, he runs, I hit, but after the sixth time through, I start to feel guilty about hitting such a weak guy, evil demon or not.

"Okay, I didn't want to have to do this, but here goes. You should have been easier." The weakling barely stands up and pulls out a tiny button hooked up to a wire underneath his jacket. "Do you know what this is?"

"No," I say truthfully.

"As soon as I press this little button, my little demon friend wipes your lovely little mother off of the face of the Earth. You don't want that to happen, now, do you?" (A/N, yes, this is the thing that Kurama killed in the Dark Tournament, don't ask why is is alive again:p)

I stare in shock. Of all the stinking, cowardly, scummy things to do... "Wha---you're lying." I mean, that is a possibility. Chances are in its favor.

"Shall we try it out, then? Then we'll see who's kidding or not."

"NO!!!" That is one chance I cannot take, no matter how unplausible it sounds.

"All right then, let's make a trade. Hand over the girl, and I give you the controller."

"Why do you want her?" I ask, to give myself thinking time.

"None of your business, child. Give her here!"

I stare into space to consider my options again. I can't let Botan go, if he wants her. But he can't kill my mother! I feel a strange burning sensation at the corners of my eyes. And he definitely won't give me the controller. He'd kill my mom anyway.

"Do we have a deal? Give her to me." He notices the tears. "Duh wittle baby is scawed," he says in a sick baby voice.

I _am_ being a crybaby, and that's getting me nowhere. But what the hell can I do?

Then it hits me. I'm surprised I didn't think of it before.

First, I make like I'm going to pick up Botan.

"There's a girl. Give her here." He stretches out his arms.

I call upon my orb of power and make myself invisible, dropping Botan on the floor before he can reach her. Then I dart around to his back. His look is much like that of Yusuke's when I tried it out on him so many weeks ago.

"NOT FAIR! I-I'll press it, w-wherever you are! I will!"

"I don't doubt you," I whisper eerily. "But I'd hold tight onto it, if I were you..."

"S-stop! Come out!"

"Heheheheh," I've been working my way in circles around him, and now I'm right next to him. I lunge, and rip it out of his hands, as the thumb is ready to spring. Then I let him watch the remains crushing itself into a very, very fine powder. Once the last chps fall to the ground, I make myself visible again.

I see his look of terror and revel in it. I kick him to the ground, and flex my claws over his neck. "That was very stupid. Using my mother to get what you want. Do you know how scummy that is? You worthless piece of---"

He nods, terrified. "WAIT, STOP! YES, YES, YES!!! I'M SORRY! I'LL EVEN TELL YOU WHO I WORK FOR!!!!! HIS NAME IS SEN---"

But apparently, he couldn't say anymore. For his eyes just roll up in his head and he stops breathing. He vanishes, as most demons do when they die. I guess his master must have killed him to prevent being revealed. Smart but totally cruel thing to do to a follower.

A small noise awakens me from my thoughts. It's Botan, and she looks like she's waking up.

"Nrrrrrg."

"Botan. Botan. Botan, can you hear me?"

She stares at me, as if trying to figure out who I am. "Oh...Katrina."

"Yeah. Yeah, Botan, it's Katrina."

"Separated...from Mie and Keiko...find them."

"Botan, who slashed you?"

"OHHH," A dazed look enters her eyes. "Someone...BIG....Ape-like...I found out... stuff...Rhi...Rhihadidit..."

"What are you talking about? Where are Mie and Keiko?" But I might as well talk to a tree. Botan has drifted out of consciousness again.

I sigh, and hoist her up onto my back again. That's the last time I plan to obey seemingly harmless, cute little lights.

Now considerably more tired and drained of power after my battle, Botan seems 10 times heavier. And the fog is not letting up one bit.

Finally, I can't go another step. I sink down on the marshy ground, laying down Botan near me. Boy do I need a good sleep...

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Well, I'm still in one piece, and so is Botan, which kind of surprises me. I figured we would have woken up in a cage. I yawn and stretch. I have no way of knowing how long I slept, but judging by the fact that my legs are still cramped from walking so much, it couldn't have been long. I check Botan's slash. It isn't bleeding freely anymore, but it still looks nasty.

As I stand up, I realize how hungry I am. The only thing louder than my stomach right now is the call of an elephant. Do you know how pathetic that is?

I think it is my stomach that saves me, because as soon as it growls, Hiei materializes in front of me with that incredible speed of his. He looks back and forth at me and Botan, many times, then holds both of our wrists without asking and speeds us away.

When my feet hit the ground again, there is no more evil green fog. I'm in a surprisingly well kept little office, and at a desk in the center sits the young king. Koenma, that is. All of the rest of Hiei's friends are there, including Keiko and Mie.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO BOTAN?" Someone shrieks piercingly. Yukina, as usual. "GOOD LORD, I'LL DO THE HEALING!" Without further ado, she sweeps Botan down the steps to what I assume must be the hospital wing.

Hiei roughly sits me down in the chair facing Koenma. I get right back up again, and run up to my school friends. Mie and Keiko look unscathed. But I notice a hardness in Mie's eyes; a coldness; that surely could not have been there before.

"Yo, how'd you guys get here, if Botan got so beat up?"

Koenma speaks. "'Yo,' that's why Hiei put you in the 'special' chair. Sit."

I glare at His Royal Diaperness and his tone, and sit as directed. "SO?! Shall I wait for explanations for all eternity?"

Mie speaks up, her eyes still uncomfortably hard and cold. "All right, all right, don't fly off the handle. Botan was our escort, and we took a different Spirit Portal, up in Northern Japan. We got there way before you guys did. We were traveling for a while, and everything was going fine, with us anyway, until we met this beast." She shudders. "We couldn't see it until it was almost upon us, because of all of that god-be-damned fog. And this thing is HUGE. Musta been 20 feet tall, at least, with loads of white hair and these bright yellow eyes. We knew we had to sneak away, but we got caught. It grabbed Botan around the back and flung her hard. She didn't even move, so we assumed the worst. It took our shock at getting discovered and Botan's "death" and used it as time to swipe and almost got Keiko with a massive clawed hand, but I kinda, I dunno..." Gee, she sounds very rehearsed.

Keiko cut in. "She's being modest. She saved both of our lives." Mie blushed. "She engulfed us in this like tornado shield thing, and we were lifted into the air. It couldn't touch us inside of this thing at first, but after a while, it started to break through."

I smile at Mie. "And you thought you were weak." She smiles happily. For someone so shy, she really is enjoying all of the attention. And rightly so; she self deprecates enough for 3 people.

Keiko continues: "We tried to get Botan, but we couldn't because the hairy demon was in front of her. So Mie just made a super gust and blew her body away, somewhere in the fog, and carried us away in the tornado. Then we just laid low in the fog after Mie's power burned out, in case the demon was still looking for us, and we searched for Botan. But we couldn't find her. Then Hiei found us, and took us here. That's all. We never found Botan. I feel like I abandoned her."

Koenma brushes this aside. "No, you did the right thing. If you had tried to carry her away in your windstorm, all three of you would have been killed. The best thing was just to get her away, and that was what you did. Now Katrina," He surveys me the way one would survey a leg of deer in the grocery store, "What happened after you found Botan?"

I tell them all, and it takes about 15 minutes. Koenma sighs. "You wouldn't be the first to be attracted to those lights. The demons lure prey that way. You're just so happy to see some light in all that fog that you'll do anything to go closer......"

"And Koenma, what was with that fog anyway? I thought the Spirit World was supposed to be a lot more bright. But that's just me, you know."

He sighs again. "Well, it did use to be grand. Ever since that demon, the same one that captured your father, took over, lots of demons started to break out of prisons. The combinations of their evil power polluted the air rather quickly."

"Mie, was that demon you fought, the one that slashed Botan, you know? Was that him? The big man?" I ask.

"No, it couldn't have been. The coward would never risk exposure. The only exception was when he picked a fight with the gang and your dad," he says calmly.

"One of his henchmen, then?"

"All demons are his henchmen nowadays."

"Crap. How can we defeat him with such an army?"

"We, Katrina, are all asking the same question." Everyone stews in thought.

Keiko is the one to break the silence. "Well, I'm going to check on Botan. Mie, Katrina, you guys feel like coming?"

We both mumble yes's and follow her down a small stairwell. Then we enter a huge room, set up like an American hospital. There is a little room concealed by a door marked LOUNGE. Botan and Yukina are easy to pick out, with their vivid blue hair. We cross the room over to them, Mie way in front.

"YUKINA!!! Will Botan be all right?" I glance at Keiko. I know she'd never forgive herself if she had survived an encounter like Beauty's, but Botan didn't. Mie is still silent, but as she looks upon Botan, I catch...a smirk?

As soon as she catches me watching her, she asks an annoyed question with her eyes. I look away. I keep forgetting that it's super rude to stare in Japan. Maybe it was a trick of the light. She wouldn't be happy about such an event, right?

Yukina looks up, obviously strained from healing. I notice her white brand of magic is weakening, slowly but surely. "She's still in danger. She's lost a lot of blood...and Kurama..." she raises her voice considerably, "...SEEMS TO HAVE FORGOTTEN HE SHOULD BE HELPING ME HEAL THIS POOR GIRL! SEEMS HE'D RATHER BE DRINKING TEA!"

I hesitantly open my eyes and uncover my ears to find that the other healers are giving Yukina less than friendly looks. Kurama is also running in from the lounge, with several eggplant-like herbs.

"I like tea," he mutters under his breath. I fight the urge to laugh. Kurama, Kurama. His green magic goes to work on Botan's mangled back, and Yukina takes a break. She pulls us away.

"You know what, girls? Kurama is a nincompoop!" Coming from her, that is an insult of deepest hatred. She stalks off angrily into a corner of the room.

I roll my eyes at Mie and Keiko. "Well, Kurama wasn't the one who screamed himself into a near-coma when I brought Botan in, though, was he?"

We all snicker. "Well, I suppose we aren't needed here. Let's go." We all walk off, leaving Kurama to his muttering, and Yukina to her pouting.

Now I'm finally on a real mattress, in clean, clear air. When Koenma insisted that we all go to bed at 7:00, I didn't even protest. There's no way I'm going to sleep anytime soon no matter what time I go to bed. I have way too much to think about. For instance, Botan said she had found out stuff, right before she passed out for the second time. My theory is that she somehow heard part of the huge demon's plan while she was looking for Mie and Keiko, though it must not have been important when she heard it, and didn't sneak away quietly enough, and ended up getting them all near killed. He must have slashed her and figured she was dead. Then maybe the blue demon was a way of trying to find her. But if Botan wakes up, she could be a real informational mine. And what was that smirk on Mie's face about? And what is with her odd attitude?

Wait. Not if she wakes up, when she wakes up. Because she will. She will...

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A/N Well, I hope you don't mind that this is going to be a long story, (sixty some chapters) at the rate I'm going. BUT SUX FOR YOU!!!!!! YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY! AH HA! Nothing you can do-o! (blushes) Umm, please review and make me even happier!


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: My god, this is getting quite annoying. Don't own YYH or characters, as usual, and Katrina is a fictional character, who is owned by moi and only moi. Sheesh...

**Chapter 22: Fight **

"Oh, Malai, I just wanted you to know that I-I..."

"What, Katsuya?"

"I---"

I angrily switch off the TV, much to Mie's annoyed yells. Since we all share the same room, there's a lot of TV fights. I'm going to kill Koenma for this bright idea.

"That was the best part of the show, you imbecile! Katsuya was just about to tell Malai that he loved her---"

"MIE! I don't want to hear about it! I hate soaps more than anything! Soap operas are just another form of kissy-kissy-goo-goo stories, which you know I can't stand! I can't believe you like those, you freak!" _Ugh. I may have a point for now, but that came out wrong._

"Well, I do!" She yells back, her face purpling. "I love love stories! They send shivers up my spine!"

"Your face sends shivers up my spine," I mutter, low enough so that she can't hear me. Anyone who goes for those seventh heaven kissy lala fairy tales oughta jump in a lake. I mean, I'm more into anime, like Rurouni Kenshin and Inu-yasha, probably because I kinda feel like that's what I'm in, now.

But, of course Mie has to hate those shows and we have to have one TV.

"Guys, knock it off already. It's driving me crazy. How can I ever sleep late or enjoy the lack of school with your constant bickering? Honestly," mutters a pile of blankets.

"Oh SORRY!" I say, my temper rising, "Didn't realize the great Yukimura Keiko needs her beauty rest!"

Keiko pokes her head out gives me a cold look from beneath the sheets. "I was just saying there's room for improvement, all right? Don't get so touchy."

"TOUCHY?! I'M touchy? You're the one whining!"

"Am not!"

"Are too."

Keiko glares at me. "You know, what the hell is wrong with you lately? You hate everyone, and it drives everyone crazy, not just me! You still don't know why Mie suspected you of knocking me out that one morning, do you? It's because of your bitchy attitude, Kat!"

Throwing off the covers, she storms out the door, leaving me utterly speechless. Mie follows her out. My eye twitches. _How dare they! I don't have a bitchy attitude. I don't. They're just as bad. Yeah, just as bad._

What I hate most of all about my mind is that I can never lie to myself. Stupid...

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Breakfast is a subdued affair. The dining hall isn't really big. Even though breakfast is really good (eggs, bacon, and toast) it doesn't taste right. Keiko and I are glaring daggers at each other, but Mie has decided not to take sides in this fight, though I'm quite sure she's inclined toward Keiko. Several other people, being Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yusuke, have noticed that I'm not talking to my friends anymore, but they aren't saying anything. You know, being polite. Except one.

"Pssst. What's up with you?"

I turn around to see Hiei. I feel unreasonable resentment. "Nothing," I whisper coldly.

He shruggs. "Doesn't look like nothing. You can tell me, if you like. Or Kurama."

"It's nothing. I just have bitches for friends is all."

He looks at me almost as if he's going to laugh, but he doesn't. "Well, me and Kurama want to talk to you after breakfast, just in the courtyard. Okay?"

How I'd love to bite him, right now, hard. "All right." _Was that my voice?_

"Okay then."

_Hmph. Guess it was me, darn it!_

"Why did they get mad at you?" He asks quietly, and again he gets a laughing glint in his eyes.

"Guess."

"Erm...the TV?"

_I hate smart people. _"Yeah."

"Mie wanted a soap, I suppose?"

A thought dawns on me. If he's no psychic, then... "You were eavesdropping!"

"No," he grins. "But if there were some in America who didn't hear you three, you'll be lucky."

So everyone knows. Exactly what I need. "We might as well go now," I mutter to Hiei, pushing away my plate. "I'm not hungry anymore."

He shruggs again. I follow him out because I really don't know my way around this huge, old style tower. My directional sense is okay, not as bad as Kurama's, but it still could be better.

Even I have to work hard to conceal how much I like the gardens/courtyard. It's a softly lit greenhouse sort of thing, with weird unearthly exotic plants. Plants with orange leaves, and blue fruit, and flashing pink blossoms. Hiei notices me staring around in my wonder. "I thought you might kill your bad mood in here. The essence from the flowers has a calming property."

Oh. So that was it. No wonder I suddenly don't hate Keiko and Mie. "It is beautiful, though."

Hiei rolls his eyes and shows me Kurama. I notice that the heartless hag is back. _Wonder why she's here?_ "Katrina, we have a fix on the demon's location," says my brother.

I am momentarily awakened from my fairy tale stupor. "Wha-what?"

"We know the general area where the king demon is."

"YOU DO?!"

"Yes. But we also found something else. Something more valuable."

"What? What?"

"This." Kurama pulls something out of his pocket. At first I am reminded of that sort of gnome thing that J.K.Rowling always uses, only much bigger. It glares up at me with such fear and hatred that I want to smack it. And I do. It glares and starts to speak. "I AM THE MASTER OF ALL PARASI, WORMS OF LEGEND! NONE DARE OPPOSE ME!" It kicks it's tiny legs and I smack it again.

"Katrina, what was that for?" Asks Genkai, putting a thick finger over its mouth. "This thing can't hurt you."

"It was glaring at me, I tell you!"

"And it should," growls Hiei. "The master's crony should hate you."

I growl at it, and try to bite its horny little head off, but Kurama snatches it away in time.

"Now that we're all bothering to act our age," begins Kurama, with a look of disgust in my direction, "I'll begin. From the information this demon..." He flicks it hard. "...calmly..." Another flick. "...gave us today, we found out what we were dealing with. The demon's name is Sensu, and powerful in terms of strength and cunning in terms of strategy. But this thing doesn't know his exact powers, and can only say they change rapidly. A power level unlike any we've ever seen before, even in Tiguro---"

"Kurama, what's with Tiguro, anyway? Everyone keeps talking about him like he was some kind of Satan slave, or something."

"Okay, here's a _brief_ summary. The Urameshi team went into a huge demon wrestling match like thing called the Dark Tournament at the end you got a wish of anything you ever wanted and Yusuke beat Tiguro in the final round so we chose to bring Genkai back and then we all lived happily ever after."

"Ummm, what?"

"Never mind," he rolls his eyes. "You'll find out later. As I was saying, Sensu is the most powerful demon in the world right now, and he plans to use that power. He will reopen Sakyo's lab and fuse the Spirit World and the human world. I mean, that's just what this scum told us."

"Sakyo?"

"Some rich demon guy, Shizuru Kuwabara fell in love with him, but he had to kill himself because he lost a bet."

My body swells. That freak? "SHIZURU IS PART OF THIS TEAM??????"

"Yes didn't you know? She's Kuwabara's older sister."

"That-that can't be...OH GOD WHY WAS SHE SUCH A BITCH THEN?"

"Well, she's been having trouble adjusting to the fact that Sakyo is gone. She's mad at the whole team now for not bringing him back to life at the end of the Dark Tournament. She in a constant irrational rage. Kurama told her early on that you were going to join us someday, so she went out of her way to harass you. Just bear with her, Katrina, she's going through a lot at the moment."

"Then why did you beat her up? You know when we first met? You had knocked her out!"

"That's true, but that wasn't really Shizuru and her friends. Just a decoy. I didn't want to hurt her or you, so I just made her swear to stop bugging you, mostly by using this." He pulls a rose out of his hair and flicks it, shouting "ROSE WHIP!" And suddenly, it elongates and turns into a thorny green whip. Petals are falling all around him

Hiei gives a rare laugh. "Kurama, you look even more like a girl than usual."

"Why?" He sounds hurt.

"Cut your hair."

"Speak for yourself, Gravity-Boy."

"MY HAIR IS PERFECTION!"

Oh god. They're fighting over fashion. What is this world coming to?

"Do you see this lovely white streak in the middle? Yours is just a mass of red!"

"My hair?! Yours looks like you were in a static factory!"

"Stop talking about yourself."

That does it. Even calm Kurama is charging at Hiei with a murderous look in his eyes.

(Dust cloud) (And you shut up, RebelWriter)

With a battle cry, Genkai leaps into the fray to play peacemaker. Now the dust is reaching molten levels, and Kurama is excessively using that whip, while Hiei isn't holding back on the sword slashing. After a while, a battered Genkai jumps out. "Let them kill each other," she mutters angrily, while massaging a cut on her left arm.

"They don't need the encouragement," I hiss urgently. "Um, guys...?"

5 minutes later...

Two very defeated looking men sprawl on the ground, panting hard. They glare daggers at each other and sit up painfully.

I laugh. "If you could see yourselves now..."

They jump. They grab their Commirs and stare at themselves. Both of their hairs are so messed up, you'd think they'd just taken a bath in a washing machine. Their eyes widen in shock. They stand up and start shouting every insult known to mankind at each other.

It's now that they realize Genkai and I are watching with interest. Both turn red and walk back to us, not looking each other in the eye.

SUBJECT CHANGE! "So what happens if Sensu...? Was that right? Okay, what if he picks up on Sakyo's research? What would happen?"

"The human world would crumble, in a figurative sense. All demon filth would basically eat everyone. And in short, to prevent that from happening, you will need retraining of a different sort. That is why Genkai is here. To teach you how to further tap into your energy."

"You-you-you-YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! With her?!"

Genkai smiles cruelly without mirth. "Yep. With me. Nice to have you back, honey."

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In the distance, Kuwabara hears something. "Urameshi, you hear dat?"

"Yeah. What is it?"

"It sounds like someone shouting 'NOOOOOO' in agony."

Yusuke shruggs. "Probably just the wind."

"Yeah, yur right."

They went back to eating their breakfasts.

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A/N I'd be shouting 'NOOOOOO' in agony also if I had to retrain with Genkai. Hehe, sux for you, Katrina, dear. Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha! And I wanted to make it known that of course I made Kurama into a little girlish personality, he has no personality otherwise! Leave me alone!


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: Well, I don't own YYH, and I don't own the real person Katrina Kon, if there is such a person.

**Chapter 23: New Respect (Back In The Dorm)**

"I DON'T NEED TO BE RETRAINED! I DON'T!"

"Katrina, please try to understand---"

"OH, I UNDERSTAND PERFECTLY! You want Genkai to kill me!"

A harassed, sleep-deprived Yusuke enters the room. "My god, what happened?"

Oh. He must have seen my room. Several rather large objects have been battered, mostly due to me. I tend to throw things when I'm mad. And I am mad. My own brother has betrayed me! He sent me to the hag of the black lagoon!

SO that's what has caused the standoff, me versus Kurama, Genkai, Keiko, Mie, and Hiei.

"Look, I don't see what's so hard about this! I trained under her forever, and I'm not looking forward to doing it again!"

"Katrina," says Kurama smoothly, "You're making a big deal over nothing---"

"ME?!" I yell, shocked to the core, "Which two people were just fighting yesterday over whose hair was better looking?"

Kurama and Hiei both flush. Yusuke, on the other hand, laughs. "Vanity?" He jeers. "You guys were fighting over vanity?"

"Oh, that was nothing," says Kurama, He shoots me a death glare, followed quickly by Hiei's.

Yusuke must have seen those murderous glints, because he suddenly suggests, "Hey, guys, why don't we eat? What do you think, Katrina?"

I open my mouth to say No of course I don't want to eat now, but he stares at me imploringly and I give in.

"Oh all right, you begging fool. I'll eat."

I follow him downstairs with my nose in the air. I still can't believe they think I need retraining. Of all the injustices…

"---that about?"

I notice he's speaking to me. "Uhhh…what?"

"I said," he said, sounding irritated, "I asked why you were all behaving like baboons."

I laugh coldly. "They're just pushing me around. Making me train under the witch again."

"Seriously?" Then he laughs. "Sucks for you. Nice knowing ya."

I glare at him. "Would it kill you to be more supportive? You had her too."

"That's how I KNOW your funeral will come soon. I'm happy."

I refuse to talk to him again. I eat my breakfast in silence then go to those soothing gardens, ignoring anyone who tries to talk to me. I need some thinking time, alone, that is.

As soon as I get there, I breathe in the perfumed air. One could really get high off of this stuff. I sit under what looks like a sakura tree, and just think to myself.

Soon, my angry thoughts turn into peaceful meditation. It's just so quiet and still and lovely and cool---

My stomach awakens me to the real world again. But when I open my eyes, by some cruel twist of fate, there is Keiko. Walking in through the glass door.

The unhappy look on her face changes to contentment as she breathes in the scent, but when she sees me, it almost comes back. But not anger. Just hurt. And maybe a little touch of embarrassment, too.

It is this moment that I can't decide whether I want to scream or to apologize to her. Both seem very appealing. I'm no expressions expert, but Keiko seems to be having the same inner war.

So we're just standing, staring at each other, 10 feet apart.

Then Keiko gives me a tiny, hesitant smile. No one else would have seen it any farther away then I am. But this one tiny smile is just telling me, the way no words could, that things just might be all right. I smile back. Her smile broadens. I'm definitely not ready to forgive her, but…oh what the hell…

"I'M SORRY!" We shout at each other at the same time. I couldn't take it anymore. It just wasn't worth it.

But those feelings could have been caused by these damn plants…

Oh well.

If she is shaken or upset by having not talked to me in days, Keiko does hide it well. She chats to me about this and that, (I'm not paying close attention) and all I have to do is say 'Yeah,' or 'That's right' every once in a while.

Soon, I grow tired of listening to her yak, so I interrupt.

"Keiko, what would you do if you had Genkai for a tutor?"

She shrugs. "I guess just go with it, I mean, you really can't cross her. If you do, you won't like what happens."

"WHY?! WHAT HAPPENS?"

Keiko laughs. "Yusuke says she gives you tougher ordeals. But if you listen to her, she can be sweet."

That is going a bit far. "Sweet. If by sweet you mean not killing me, then yes. If by sweet you mean rewarding me once in a while, no."

"Yeah, but she's just an ornery person. I know Kurama told you about Tiguro, but did he ever say what he was to her?"

"Noooo." Now she's got me in a trance, I gotta hear more.

"It's really sad. Tiguro and Genkai were in the Dark Tournament on the same team…You know what that is, right?"

"Yesyesyes tell me more!"

"Genkai and Tiguro were more than friends, if you know what I mean. She might have married him if not for… well, Tiguro was once a human, but a demon turned him into an immortal demon at his request, a few yearsbefore their team won the Dark Tournament. He ran from death, and so Genkai stopped respecting him. The fact didn't help that she found out he only liked her for her beauty."

I cut her off. "Genkai…beautiful?"

"Yeah she was 'the fairest in all of the land' or whatever. Anyway we soon learned that Genkai was forced to enter the Dark Tournament again by Tiguro, along with Kurama, Hiei, Kuwabara, and her apprentice, Yusuke Urameshi. It was in this time period that she gave most of her power to Yusuke, and Tiguro, sensing weakness, fought her in an unfair match and killed her."

It takes a second for the shock to hit me. "A GHOST has been teaching me?"

"No, no, Botan brought her back from the Spirit World, so the Supreme Bitch lived again."

"That stinks."

"Nah, no one else has power anywhere equal with hers. She's quite a powerful ally. Even Koenma fears her."

I need time to fully soak this up. "I'm going to go to my room and feel sorry for myself. Care to join me?"

"I'll stay here, thanks." She grins.

"All right, but you don't know how good feeling sorry for yourself can be."

"I prefer to keep it that way."

"See ya."

"Bye."

I walk back up all those flights of stairs to my room, and then close the door tightly behind me. I notice Mie standing there.

"Hi," I say shyly.

"Hi," she replies, more curtly than usual. "So, you two made up? You and Yukimura?"

What's up with Yukimura? "You sound disappointed about it."

"It's nothing. NOTHING AT ALL." There's a definite edge to her voice now.

"What's your problem?"

"You don't know?"

"Why else would I be asking?"

"Figure it out, Kat." She flounces into the bathroom without once looking back.

Jeez. What was that about? It's just one damn problem after another in my life.

A/N Well then…REVIEW! This was a pointless chapter, so bear with me.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or the real person Katrina Kon if such a person exists. Secondly, this will be on the short side. Enjoy! And I also wanted to make it known that flames are accepted. Criticism is useful.

**Chapter 24:**

I can't find my Commir. I have looked everywhere, but it has bailed on me. Traitor!

It's also been 3 days now, and Mie still isn't talking to me, or Keiko for that matter. But it's not like we haven't tried. Every time I try to corner her in the room all three of us share, she just makes up some excuse to get away from us. If we won't let her, she'll blow herself out the door with her power. It's getting kinda frustrating.

Like now. I come back from our room to Keiko, defeated again. This time, Mie flew out the window.

"Lost her again, have you," says Keiko, fighting back a smile.

I ignore this. "What the hell is her goddamn problem? If she won't talk about it to us, how are we supposed to get anything fixed around here?"

"Servants?"

I glare at her and she grins. "You know, I've been thinking about this predicament, and you know what, I think she feels left out."

"What?"

"Well, it was usually you and her, before you got to know me better. You said you were both outcasts together, or something, right? She probably didn't like being second best with you from the start but kept quiet about it. That's what she does; you know, never tell anyone how she really feels inside. I think when we had a fight, she was probably hopeful that we'd never speak to each other again, so she could have the role of 'Katrina's best friend' all over again."

It makes so much sense I wonder why I never thought of it before. "Yukimura Keiko, world-class psychologist, super-genius."

"Oh, quiet," she says blushingly.

"But why does she want to be my best friend so much? Why not yours?"

"If you must know, she and I never really hit it off. We have been in this boarding school our whole lives, so naturally we knew each other. I thought she was a more than a little melodramatic, and she thought I was a know-it-all. We just became friends this year, in 8th grade, because of you. And Kat, you're everything she wants to be. Pretty, athletic, somewhat smart and popular, powerful demon…I guess this just pushed her over the edge."

"No. That-That can't be."

"Why not?"

I shudder. I'm not pretty! "So what you're saying is that if we include her more, she might make up with us?"

"Depends," says Keiko, her brow furrowing. "How would we get her to do something with us from the start?"

We start our plotting, with more consists of talking anyway, but then Hiei comes into the room. "Koenma wants you, Kat. On some kind of errand."

I shrug at Keiko. "Can Keiko come too?"

"I guess." He jumps out the same window Mie did.

Keiko and I look at each other. "Is there some new wave thing I'm missing here?"

She rolls her eyes in agreement, and so we make our way into the office again. Now there's only Koenma, pacing his little study, and occasionally glaring at a pile of papers fathoms high sitting on his desk. The desk is swaying with the weight. I can hear him muttering things like 'Darn ogres made another protest' or 'How on earth can I get this done before Dad gets back…'

It takes him a little while to notice us, but finally looks up. "Oh…what do you two want?"

"Hiei said you needed us for something," I begin tentatively.

"Not both of you," he grumbles. "Just you."

Keiko scowls at him and slams the door behind her as she walks out. "All right, Katrina, I want you to do something important for me."

"What?"

"Some demons have attacked a young girl, Enma knows how she got into the Spirit World as it is, but that is beside the point…"

He talks like this for some time, very inaudibly, until "Uh, could you tell me where they are?" I say, waving him on with my hand.

"Getting to it, getting to it," he shuffles through a pile of papers. "Ah, here we go…" He pulls one out, "About 11 o'clock last night, our radar picked up a living human child, wandering in the fog. She was clutching something hard in her fist. We tried to send someone out, Hiei, but the strangest thing happened. She just vanished, like, poofed, off the radar screen. Hiei went to the area where she had last been seen, and he found rather large footprints in the marshy ground. So we suspect foul play."

"Do you think it was that same thing that attacked Mie and Keiko?"

"From their description of it and its feet, I'd say it's very probable."

"Okay then, so I have to rescue her?"

"Correctimundo."

"Correctimundo?"

"Never mind, just get her back…OH DAMMIT NOT AGAIN!"

I immediately see what the problem is. The worn desk has split in two, sending all the papers sailing. "STUPID GODDAM PIECE OF S---"

Not wishing to remain alone with the angry POTTY - mouthed king of the Spirit World, I hightail it out the door.

My god, if that desk hadn't split, I might've found out where to look in the fog, or why he was choosing me to look for her. Wouldn't Hiei or Kurama have been a more competent choice?

I go to find Keiko. I need to pack.

REVIEW!


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or the real person Katrina Kon.

**ALERT!: Linkin Park Rox, because you have been so nice, if you ever read this again, number 1, please review, and number 2, I will delete the rush ending in They Used To Be Friends and replace it with a full-blown story. Your choice. So please review, or at least email me at pandagirl003 at aol . com, and about the spacings, ff won't let me type it unless there are spaces. Thanks!**

**Chapter 25: Spirit Detective**

Well, I guess I'm ready. I'm stuck in my room with Keiko, whois doing the last straps on my backpack, while Mie is god knows where.I have packed food for a week, and it's all stuffed in my huge backpack. It's frickin' HEAVY! And I'm supposed to be a demon too!

Guess what I found out? They want me to be another Spirit Detective. I told them flat-out no, that I have too much going on and that if I get one more responsibility I will totally lose it, but did they care? No, they only gave me a party hat and a whistle and told me to lighten up. They must think I'm two years old. I AM NOT TWO, despite what anyone else says! But maybe being two would have it's advantages. At least they wouldn't ask me that at every given interval. I think they are threatening Yusuke thatif he doesn't give me the post he will be killed, but even so, it doesn't matter, as I will noto be taking it from him. He's happy; I'm happy; the only problem is that no one else notices. Grrrrr-ness.

And I am totally freaking out over my Commir. What if I get in trouble? What then? I won't be able to call for help?They can't just let me die, right? Right?

Thinking of Genkai, I'm not so sure.

My nerves probably magnify this. I really, really,_really_ don't want to go into that fog again. And Keiko isn't helping.

"C'mon, girl, you'll do great! Just like you always do! If you mess up the worst that could happen would just be a simple, swift decapitation, or---"

"Keiko, you're supposed to be my cheerleader, notmy High Chancellor!" (The head of the funeral in the medieval days.) "Honestly, stop being so gloomy! I have enough on my mind without the fact of how fast my death will occur. Sheesh."

"Oh," she laughs. "Sorry. That must be kind of depressing."

"Ya think? And you know what else?"

"What?"

"Where am I supposed to look for this child?"

"Hiei said something about it yesterday out of the corner of his mouth, as always. Like he'd see you and give you a map or something."

"Oh, okay. Do you kno why he talks out of the corner of his mouth?"

"No, but Hiei's weird. I don't think there's anyone alive who can fully understand him. Like, we had to threaten Hiei to help us out, yet when one of our enemies killed his teammate, Hiei went all weird and said that he and only he would fight they guy. Obviously, he won."

"Well, he's actually pretty simple. Selfish with a hint of friendship. And---" I stop. "Keiko, why are you looking at me like that?"

She grins. "Hiei and Katrina. How unlikely."

"C'mon, it's not like that! I was just saying that he's easy to figure out..."

She smiles again and shakes her head. "Fine, don't admit it. -KAT- don't get mad, I'm just saying, the way you were talking suggested it. You are the only person in history that can actually say that youunderstandHiei, and usually when a person says that, they mean they like that person."

"Well, I don't. I mean, as a friend in some circumstances, but not like him like him."

"Whatever you say. And here comes Hiei right now."

Now I don't feel like talking, so we don't. I had kind of hoped that I could excuse myself by saying I didn't know where to go.But of course, true to his word, Hiei comes in with a detailed map.

He points to the southeast corner. "It's around here where we sensed her. I'll show you how to get there, but then you're on your own."

"Why am I on my own? Why can't I have a buddy? Can't you come with me?"

He actually goes red. Is thisreally Hiei? "That's what Koenma refuses to tell me. You're not ready for this kind of thing, but he doesn't seem to care. Genkai's sharing nothing either. If I had to guess, it's almost like they're testing you for something. And speaking of testing, your retraining is due to start in 4 days."

"Damn. I'd hoped they would have forgotten by now."

"Not Genkai. Her memory does not fade, no matter what."

"I'm finding that out."

So I follow him out the door. Keiko issues a final 'GOOD LUCK, KAT' at the top of her lungs and shutsthe door. I have a sinking feeling in my stomach that I am sure did not come from breakfast.

As soon as we step into the fog, I choke. It's thicker and smellier than last time, and that was but one week ago.

"You okay?"

"Fine," I gasp. WHY DID I TELL HIM THAT? I wonder if I have ever been less fine.

He glances at me worriedly, and then motions for me to follow him. We trudge for what seems like 100 miles, (he said genkai said he wasn't allowed to use super speed)but then we finally come to a little clearing, a sort of parting in the fog. I feel happy, the kind that flared up within when I looked at the demonic lights.

"Hiei, why is it so much clearer here?" No sooner had I asked this, I am hit with a wave ofdizziness so incredibly huge that I drop to my knees. Then…it's gone. I shakily stand up, the intense pain ebbing away quickly.

"Kat! KAT! What happened?"

"I-I dunno."

"Kat, I'm really, really sorry about this." His voice becimes curter."But this is what has to be done."

"What?" It is answered by a popping noise. Hiei has abandoned me. I'm alone.

I'm not alone.

Something is here with me. I sense something, actually no, many things.

Panic hits me, though not as bad as it could have been.

Calm down. Calm down. Relax. You're really powerful, right? You can take it. You can take it. You can take it…

These thoughts keep me under control, at least for the moment. I finish pulling myself together, and then I look for the footprints Hiei said he'd found near the site. I don't have to look far. Massive footprints, like that of an abscessed Bigfoot's. Of course, they lead into the fog. The thought of going back into that fog makes me sick. But I need to save that idiot child, right?

I try to move my feet but they won't move. Maybe it's just that I hate not being able to see. Or maybe…

Oh shitake mushrooms.

I'M STUCK! I AM ACTUALLY STUCK!

I can see the look on their faces. Hiei's disbelieving voice, 'It killed her because she was stuck?'

Of all ways to die…

Frustrated, I tug my feet again. I manage to lift one up about two inches, and see that a strange type of goop covers it. Very sticky goop, which is also currently drying on my long thick boot.

I've learned enough from Genkai to know that sticking my bare hands into some unearthly substance was not the smartest path of action, but how elseam I supposed to get free?

I tug harder and harder, until, sweating, the answer hits me. Do I really need my boots?

So, I unlace them and then I get them off, sweating profusely. Okay, now I'm alone with not even my boots to protect me. Great. So, in my socks, I walk off, following the trail of footprints. A second after, I hear something and dive out of sight along this path. For once I am grateful for the fog,at least I can't be seen.

"I felt something twitch in Rhiharl's webbing. I think we have her another meal to give to dear old Sensu…"

Then what I hear is unmistakably a cry of rage. "FOOL! I told you we should have got here faster! The animal escaped! All that is left of it is these boots! It might have been the savior of the human! He needs it!"

"Oh no, oh no."

"And it's your fault, buffoon!"

"You don't think he will be content with that human female?"

"OF COURSE NOT! LOOK AT HOW SKINNY SHE WAS! NO MEAT AT ALL! AND SHE WON'T BE EATEN! REMEMBER, SHE'S---"

"Y-you mean, he wouldn't eat the panther man?"

"That bloke?" The first demon laughed dryly. "He's been fried and refried so many times by that frap ray, the only thing that has less water than him is the Earth's Sahara. No, the panther is merely a hostage, and of course, he will be used later if he can ever get the child."

"Wish I knew why he needed him." Muttered the other one thoughtfully.

"Can't have him causing trouble, right?"

"Will he kill him?"

"At some point. You know, when he has no further use. Once his life energy is sucked away, what more can be done with him?"

"I guess so."

"Let's go. We're already late."

They teleport away.

_Those morons! Talking about that where anyone could have heard them!_

I haven't been happy since I heard them, but now I most certainly am. They filled me in on so much stuff! I continue walking, almost skipping. They caught the girl in the webbing, and that Sensu is the demon keeping my father. And that they know Suuichi and I exist. And why would Sensu need me, the savior, to come unscathed?

I'm no longer smiling. Perhaps it is because of these thoughts or that the footprints are getting fresher, and greater in number. I guess I'm getting closer to Sensu's training grounds, at least for his troops.

Now the fog is getting thicker because the energies from the demons are more concentrated, so it's also smellier. If I live to get out of this dump, I'm never setting foot outdoors again as long as I live.

Suddenly, I hear commotion that sounds like a great crowd. If it's an army I'm dead. But we knew I was dead already, right?

I come to a demon town, which is obviously the source of all the noise, that you wouldn't know existed had you not been right next to it and deaf. But I have to face my most obvious problem: HOW AM I GOING TO GET IN UNSEEN? I mean, even demons are bright enough to figure out the difference between a demon and a part-human.

Ironically, the answer is being read right in front of me. I see a sign: ROUND UP REBELS FOR REWARD, complete with a picture of who I speculate is Sensu. Big as a tree and hairy green, it couldn't have been the one that hurt Botan. They said it was whitish.

I see an uglybluish-green demon, in a rancid blood red tunic-like garment. He doesn't see me leap from the shadows. I take him out easily, my claw drawing a line across his throat, wincing as some of the jugular spray splashes me.And I also wince as I tug off the robe. Utterly disgusted, only saving that girl's life could have let me put in on. Then I pull up the hood so that my human face is shrouded in shadow. Then I pick up the demon's body and sling it over my shoulder. I look in my Commir, and even I have to admit I really look the part of a bounty hunter. I resist the crazy urge to yell for backup just in case something happens. Bloodstained robes, my captive beaten up, everything's in place. I would be almost comfortable if:

I was not worried about never getting this putrid stench of blood off of me, and

I was not worried about whether I'd have to show my face or not.

So, I step into the populace and realize that I blend right in. There are tons of demons that hide their faces, and another few who have wounded people also with them. These men I watch closely. They all seem to be going into this huge stone palace, which looks like the evil twin of Koenma's place. Some windows are boarded up, and the thing seems to be creaking, waiting for someone to drop onto. Not exactly comfy looking. I watch at a distance. The other bounty hunters talk to this shrimpy, wispy little yellow demon, probably stating their business and names. The manager writes on a slip of paper and admits them through with a wave of his hand - or claw.

Looks simple enough.

I step up to that main door, and stare expectantly at him. He sizes me up. "Your name would be…?"

I hadn't expected this. I hastily deepen my voice pitch. "……….Krasakat."

"You'd be a bounty as well?"

"Er…yeah. A bounty hunter. A servant of Sensu! I would never dream of disobeying his ridicul-hrm-good laws!"

He watches me carefully, as if waiting for me to suddenly run and attack. "Very well, through and through, you'll find someone to escort you within the door…NEXT!"

I bite back a scream of delight. I made it in! And for a name, using a variation of Crazy Cat!

A/N Review!…please? And this chapter sucked, I just got done editing it, I assure you, the writing quality improves later.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or the real person Katrina Kon, but the storyline of this tale is all mine.

**Chapter 26: I Rescued A Brat**

As the admitter promised, there was another demon that showed you to the room where you could dump off prisoners. He's particularly creepy looking,despite his human shape. I mean, having stripedorange and yellowleggings plus a polka-dottedpink and orange would makeMadonna faint. I mean, I'm not into fashion that much, but I at least know not to wear what's he's wearing. Even for a demon, he has a particularly poor fashion sense.Calmly, he points me to a brown, moldy door. Strange. I'd be very self conscious looking like that.

I open it cautiously and see the same guys I had seen being admitted right before me. Their prisoners have been slung into a pile in a corner, next to a large cart, giving off a stench that would kill people in gasmasks,and their demon captors are sitting on the brown-boardedfloor quietly, not talking. They are all hodded in filthy garments.They also have have human-ish forms, more or less. I dump my dude in his loincloth on the pile, trying not to gag, andI imitate the demonsand the tight, pinched way they are sitting, and sit down a little apart from them.

Minutes later, the silence is killing me. I can hear my internal clock ticking and ticking and ticking, again and again, so I am seriously ready to kill myself. My god, I wish I had my Commir to at least talk to someone, althought that would kinda get me discovered....

"Hey, you guys, you wanna tell me something?"

One with a hooded face like mine nods.

"Well, I was just wondrin' where the pris'ners would be taken." I'm combining every bummy accent I know of. If I speak like a commoner, I won't stand out.

The one who nodded before speaks up. "To the…ehehe…pantry room, or so He calls it. All prisoners go there eventually. That way, they die scared.His Majesty has a right big appetite, and He thinks that they taste better if their final moments are spent in terror."

I don't want to ask what kind of torture they are undoubtedly subjected to.

"Where'd that be? The pantry, I mean."

"Why?" He drawls suspiciously.

Think fast, think fast! "Erm…I'd like to save His Majesty the trouble of coming up here 'n' draggin' 'em all down, so I thought I'd take 'em up meself."

"Right noble cause, even though it's his servants that do the dirty work. See, ya go down dis cor'dor, and then ya see a sign pointing you towards the pantry room. Follow it and you can come inside, so long as yeh've got food with yeh."

"Thanks," I grunt. I stand up, stretch my cramped legs, andcrossing over, I wince as I pick up the bodies and put them on that cart. Then I drive out the cart, creaking horribly,and I follow the directions, like the demon said. I do see a sign that looks like it had been carved directly from a tree, byone who was none too skilled with a chisel. Though not very big, it looks like it has long been suffering.

Finally, Ifind a door labeled the pantry and cautiously open the door. I don't know what to expect. There might be demons that do the torturing, and I really don't feel like getting on their bad side and blowing this whole test.

I glance around. The room is surprisingly lit well, and there are no demons to my relief. But something catches my eye immediately.

A weird bright orange circularcontraption is whizzing around the room, in nauseatingly fast circular motions. From my science class lab projects,I can tell that it is moving almost asfast as the speed of sound.I can't look at it or I get dizzy, but from what I can tell from the corners of my eyes, it is a solid disc with a hole in the middle.Something is within this circular cubicle in the disc,something long and with a brown top, but it is moving too fast for me to really take it in.However, very once in a while I hear a scream. Followed by a clap of laughter.My ears follow it and I locate him,shrouded in shadow, moving his appendages into the light now and again.

Then the insane person leans into view. Phew! He's not Sensu! "Well, stop staring, fool! Whadaya want?" I am instantly reminded of a toad; a very large, frightfully ugly toad. His speech oddly resembles Eddy Murphy's, pronouncing "th" like "d".

"Um…um…I am delivering more food, sir."

"I know dat! Butcha acting down there like yeh never seen a here Whiris before!"

"Can't say that I have, sir. I'm new."

"Where yeh been, kid? This is just the way we play wit' humans. We think they might as well have fun before deir deaths!" He snaps his fingers/claws/phalanges and the machine freezes instantly, suspended in air. I see the long lanky thingy in the center.A young girl; no more than 9, is trying to catch her breath, her mouse-brown hair all in her face. She must be the target.

"See, look what FUN she's havin'," he laughs, as the girl starts to cry. "This one's going is the bait."

What's that supposed to mean? "Ummmmm…ummmmmm…uh…that, sir, is what I came here for! I am to deliver this fine specimen to His Majesty. Raw."

"Ain't seen you 'round here before. And she isn't to be eaten."

"Like I said, sir, I'm new. And the human is to be eaten after all."

He scowls, angry that I have taken away his source of amusement. The result makes his toad-like face seem even wrinklier than before. "Gowan, take 'er. Worthless chit." Stretching his body over the edge, he grabs her and throws her to me roughly. I catch her and lead her out saying harsh things to her, to make my masquerade seem more believable. As soon as we are out the door, I shove her under my tunic; urgently hissing "I'm on your side! Don't move!"

She actually does stop crying, and only huddles, shaking, under my tunic. So I take one step, then another, very slowly, to prevent her from falling out. We slowly go up through the corridor, ever slow. It's hard to move with her. Some demons that have just entered and give me funny looks, whispering "Ka kii ka son rah."

"I'll give you khakis on rye." I mutter, all too aware of the fact that i have a strange bulge under my robe.

Well, at least I am making progress. I am almost to the door---

"Hey! You!" What I suspect is a demon policemen blocks my way, jumping in front quickly. At least, it seems to be wearing some kind of orange uniform, which contrasts oddly with his green-blue skin. Heis holding a littlecontrol that is blipping red and making noises like a radar sensor."My sensor picked up that you are really two people concealed as one! So fess up! What are you hiding?"

Oh shitake mushrooms. Gotta make this one really believable. "Wa-al, I do have a pet here," I take her out from under my tunic. I hear many gasps of revulsion and surprise from other demons surrounding me.

"Keeping human pets is against the law, sir!" Oh perfect. Could this day go any less smoothly?

"Sir?! I, weakling, am a lady."

"Lad---" He doesn't finish his sentence. I leap up and slash at him, my hood falling off. Everyone hisses "Human!" And charge. Damn, and I was so close to getting free!

The problem with this fight scene is that I have to avoid stepping on the squirt, so I'm doing a kind of tap dance around her. She's watching me in awe of my power. I also see fear mixed with the reverance, and she is talking to herself.

So an elbow here wham and a punch therepow and a kick there BOOM and I'm golden. The demons aren't very powerful at all. But I do have to get out before Sensu gets here first. I think he'll probably notice all of the dead.

Speaking of Sensu, shouldn't my dad be around here? Is there some chance I could do a double rescue?

I hold the little girl's shaking hand, and look around all of the various rooms at high speed. Specimen room…pantry…dissecting room…c'mon, c'mon…dungeon, where's the dungeon…Damn, he's probably either above or below this level, knowing the bad guys of anime shows...

My fruitless searching is cut short by monstrous footsteps that shake the ground. It could only be…

She starts to scream, although thescreaming sounds fake, or hoarse, or something,but I cover her mouth and run like hell to the door. Lucky the last room I checked was the right next to the door.

I fling it open. "Sorry, Dad." I mutter. If I go back for him, it will not only be my life that is lost, but this girl's also. I carry her in a piggyback into the outdoors. The air seems cleaner, probably because of all the demon trash I snuffed in there. But I don't care. The only thing on my mind is putting as much space between that demon and me and my parcel as possible.

I run and run, as a panther with the Brownie scout on my back, until not even my demon form can withstand anymore. I drop the girl to the ground and collapse upon it myself while morphing back.

"Are you all right, girl?" I ask.

"My name's Lahri, not girl." She says very matter-of-factly. I laugh. What memories that brings back of Hiei/Genkai and I!

"What's so funny?"

I stop laughing. "You just reminded me of myself. Quite a while ago."

"Quite a while ago?! I'm 12!!"

I look her up and down again. I still say she looks nine, but I do see something in her eyes. A hardness is within them. She's seen a lot of bloodshed. I can tell because that's the look Genkai always wears on her shrunken face. That haunted, deadened look. And this girl's but 9!

"Oh, I pity you! You've seen so much bloodshed and you're only 9!" I bend down to hug her.

She pulls away. "I told you, I'M 12!"

"You were serious? Oh c'mon, how dumb d'ya think I am?

"Pretty dumb," she growls.

"So then you _are_ 9?"

"I'm 12!"

I roll my eyes. She's making no sense. "Kid, I just saved your ass. You aren't thanking me for your life!"

"What's that got to do with anything? And it's Lahri!"

I realize we're shouting at each other. I don't need this. "Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you, all right? I just rescued you, and I'm under a lot of strain, okay? So I'm sorry."

"Like hell you are." She must have seen my fist curling, because she quickly added, "T-Thanks for rescuing me, even though you should have been slower in taking me out. Where are we? I want to go back."

"We're in the Spirit World. We are not going back. Speaking of which, how'd a human like you get here? Got lost from the girl scout troop into Demon World? Huh? Well? What? Start talking, kid."

"You are too."

"What?"

"A human."

"Only half human. Other side's demon panther."

"REALLY? So that's how I was riding on a panther! I thought I was hallucinating! Can you show me how? You know, to be a half demon too?"

LAHRI'S POV:

_So she is the one Sensu was looking for._

KATRINA:

"If you haven't got the genetics, no. Are you part demon?"

Silence.

"Lahri, I asked you a question."

"I dunno. Sometimes I make stuff happen," she answers evasively.

"Okay, whatever." I'll get it out of her eventually. I know better than to press people mercilessly. Eventually they say something totally untrue just to end the interrogation, and I don't want that. "How'd you get here?"

"Dunno." She is obviously lying. She moves her right hand, and I notice something in it.

"What's that there in your hand?"

"What?"

"Lahri, what's that there in your right hand? Hey!" I clap my hand tomy forehead. "The King did say you had something inyour fist!"

"IT'S NOTHING!!!!!" I see her pupils contract with sudden fear.

"Don't lie to me, freak. Hold out your hand." She holds out her left. "The other hand, Lahri."

"Fine, take it!" She yells, and chucks something at me that hits, with impressive force, my forehead. It falls to the ground in front of me, and ironically, she tries to snatch it back again. But I'm way too quick for her. I grab a handful of her hair, despite her loud, screechy protests, and pick up the shiny object.

It's my missing Commir.

A/N WOOHOO! I am getting so into this, you know! Review! Thanks to all my previous reviewers!


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH.

**Chapter 27: You're So Getting A Spanking**

I stare at it. I'm totally dumbstruck, while Lahri looks ready to commit suicide.

I start breathing hard for effect. "How…did a kid like you…end up…with my Commir?"

"I-I didn't mean…"

"Well?"

"Um…um…I found it."

"One more try."

She starts to cry. "I-I-I took it! I TOOK IT OKAY?!" She sobs even harder than when she was on the Whiris.

"Okay." I take a dep calming breath, tryingto resist the urge to strangle her."Why?"

"You aren't going to pound me?"

"Depends, you freak. Why, Lahri?"

She seems to be calming down. "I was a gutter girl. Lived on the streets. I heard you guys talking about some kind of---"

"Who are us?"

"You were with some little black-haired boy. He was kinda skinny and sickly," she adds with a wrinkled nose.."As if he'd just come out of the dryer."

"Yes. Go on."

"Well, I kinda heard you guys talking about some spirit king, who ruled heaven and Earth. I was hoping he could help me. It was stupid to follow you, because part of me was saying, 'Hunger is making you hallucinate, don't follow,' but I was starving. hunger drives you to almost anything. I thought, well, maybe the Spirit King could improve my situation, so I followed you guys. Since it was dark and rainy, you guys didn't see me. And then the little guy said something like 'We'll get there with super speed…just hang on to me' and I saw you grab him. So I grabbed the back of his cape. Then we were just flying. It was amagical moment, soaring like that.He didn't feel me because I was only hanging on with my index finger, or at least, that's what I supposed happened. Then you were walking in a meadow and you met a talking baby. I hung far behind. I learned he was the Spirit King. So then I crept closer, in hopes of trying to talk to him about the fact that I was impoverished. Then I saw him draw a circle in the air and what he said was a Spirit Portal opened. I wanted to go down there with you guys. Maybe I'd have a better life there, you know? So I made for it, but then I tripped, and my hand kinda…jumped..."

"Kinda what?" I look at her. "Lahri, you didn't steal…?"

"Well…I reached into your pocket, to see if you had any food. What I found was a small Mirror. I liked it so much I…I didn't give it back. So then I waited for you guys to pass through, and I jumped in after you. But then, out on the other end, I hit my head, and teleported something."

"Hold up. You can magic stuff away?"

"Yeah. I don't know why or how. I've always been able to. But I think I teleported your friend and the Spirit kingaway from you. I was directly behind you, and I don't think you saw me. I don't know, I blacked out soon afterwards after I saw you blast a shape in the fog before you. When I woke up, I was stunned. I was in putrid green fog, with nowhere to go, all alone. So I set out, but then I got stuck in this goop. Then scary looking monsters teleported me away. Then they asked how I would like to be cooked. I was stunned again, so I wouldn't answer, then a monster toad put me on that thing that flew - I think he said it was a Whiris or something. That's when you saved me. But i heard something.One of Sensu's servants said they needed to find you or something, at least, they said they needed the Kon child. Your last name is Kon, right?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah. They mentioned you and your powers and speed and all this other crap 20 times."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah." She starts breathing really fast. "I'm really, really, really, really, really sorry for taking your Mirror, all right? Now please don't kill me!" She covers her head as if preparing for a bomb.

KATRINA'S POV:

"So now you're a thief, too." I raise my fist.

"AH! Only for stuff I needed."

"You needed my Mirror?" I lower it.

She's sniffling again. "N-no…"

"Okay, I'll talk it over with Koenma and the others when I get you back to headquarters.You owe me for sparing you, you stupid street scum."I see her face glowing despite the insult. "No, Lahri, this doesn't mean you're off the hook, you stupid 9 year old."

"I'M NOT 9 you stupid bitch---"

That's the final straw. I glow all over with blue fire. I allow my eyes to glow, and I raise my fists, fingers laced together, as if to brIng them both down.

She jumps out of the way as I get ready to swing her for miles. Man, for a 9 year old, she's pretty fast. Rage blinding me,Icease to glow and simply follow her. Screeching I'm sorry, she continues to evade my blows with speed that is so precise it's almost animalian. I don't care; allI know is that she's going down.

Finally, a well-aimed kick sends her crumpling. I stand over her menacingly.

"OH MY GOD I"M SO SORRY!"

"HOW sorry?"

'Very soorrrrrry! Very very very sorry!"

"You'd better hope so."

"Of course, you ape."

My mouth falls open. "You got some mouth for somewho's completely vulnerable."

"I know."

She doesn't see what happens next. All she knows is that we are wrestling and she's losing.

Finally, I hear the Commir buzz. I sit on Lahri's chest angrily and take it. It's Kurama.

"Kat! I'm so glad you have your mirror again! Where was it?"

'A dorky girl...stole it...awhile back."

I see Lahri'sface fall. Kurama looks surpirsed. 'The kidnappee?"

"Exactly. This kid is irritating the heck out of me."

"Oh? Would you lie someone to pick you up?"

I start to say yes, but then I catch Lahr's sneering face. "Of course not."

"Okay then, if you're sure."

"Yes. Bye."

I grab her hand and start to lead her away, back to the direction that I think is towards the Spirit Capitol.

For once, I turn out to be right. I meet nothing threatening along the way, so it's basically a victory march back home, not that I'm complaining or anything.

Aftergoingthrough the door (**this was where I left off)**and I burst into Koenma's office. He's just sitting there nonchalantly, but his look changes to one of great surprise and pleasure.

"KATRINA! YOU'RE ALIVE, DEAR GIRL!"

"No thanks to any of you goons. I brought her."

"Splendid. I'll call in the others." He talks into a loudspeaker. "OHHHHH GUYS!"

Everyone bursts in so quickly that I suspect they were outside the door the whole time anyway. Kurama actually hugs me. "You came back with her!"

"That's really amazing."

"You're really something, you know that, Kat?"

I'm really surprised by all of this. "What, you all doubted me?"

Kurama sweatdrops. "Well, depends on your point of view…"

"It was a rather hard training mission." Genkai has just entered. "I should have set you off with something easier."

I stare at her. "Train…" Then the realization hits me. "YOU SET ME UP, YOU BITCH! HOW COULD YOU?????????"

"Kat please…"

"HOW DARE YOU!!!!!!"

"It's not what you think…"

"YES! YES IT IS WHAT I THINK! YOU PLANTED HER THERE JUST TO TRAIN ME! WHAT ARE YOU, IN CAHOOTS WITH SENSU?"

"Wait a sec…What?"

"YOU KNOW DARN WELL WHAT! I SUPPOSE YOU HAD HER HERE TAKE MY COMMIR ON PURPOSE, RIGHT?"

"ORDER IN THE DAMN COURT!" And for once, the person shouting is not I. It's instead a brown haired teenage boy sitting where Koenma was. And he's holding a gavel.

Somehow, the sight of him calms me. "Okay, can someone please explain to me what's going on?"

Koenma, teen Koenma that is, starts. "First of all, I would like to display my displeasure that no one takes me seriously while in baby form. And secondly, I have no idea why she had your Commir, and that's the truth. But you might have wondered why we sent out a newbie like you to get her back, rather than someone we know functions well already." He glances at Kurama and Hiei.

"Go on."

"Well, we figured this was the best way to test you. Genkai thought you were ready for a stealthy thing like this. So we tried you out. And, I must say, you did phenomenal for just a few weeks worth of training. Now that I've told you my bit, perhaps you and…" He gestures at the girl.

"It's Lahri."

"Okay, you and Lahri can tell us some more."

Basically, the same stuff that is said here was already said in the fog to each other. I am very glad that Lahri has finished.

"Okay, Katrina, you can go to bed now. I'd like talk to Lahri a little more. Learn about this telepathy thing she has." No one moves. "Well get going, now! Chop chop!"

Everyone reluctantly leaves, except for me. I am totally out the door.

When I reach my room, Keiko hugs me. "GIRL, YOU HAVE GOTTA TELL ME HOW YOU DID IT!" She shrieks excitedly. I mutter, "I'm tired," and plummet into my soft bed. I fall asleep instantly.

I wake up. Sunlight is streaming through the window. Keiko is gone, probably to breakfast. Mie is still asleep. Or she appears asleep. I wonder if she's still mad at me. Probably. Must be the evil witch called Jealousy.

As I watch, the power of my gaze draws her eyes. She must have only pretended to be asleep.

She frowns at me. When I won't stop staring, she asks, "Well, what? WHAT?"

"Nothing, God."

"Stop watching me."

"It's not hurting anybody."

"Except me. But you wouldn't care, would you?"

This was really going too far. "Okay, look, I'm getting really tired of this. Why do you hate me all of a sudden? What did I do to you? Just tell me already!"

She glares at me, and then opens her mouth. I brace myself for a vicious insult. What comes is not what I expected at all.

"You made up with Keiko."

"And why is that so damn bad?"

"I don't like Keiko. I never liked Keiko. She's a nerd."

"Oh, I see. So what you want me to do is what I have to do."

"NO, NO! That's not what I meant."

I cut her off with a wave of my hand. "Then what did you mean?"

"I…I…I meant that I don't like Keiko.'

"Why?"

"I told you, she's a know-it-all."

"So what?"

She stares at me with a face full of anger and hurt. "So what?" She repeats disbelievingly.

She's picked the wrong person to cross. "You know what, Mie? I think you're jealous of her."

"WHAT?"

"You want to be smart like her."

"No…I don't."

"What, then?"

"I want her to get away from you."

Oh my god. I am so disgusted it's beyond words. She's the biggest baby I've ever met. She thinks the world revolves around her. I walk out from the room, ignoring her yelling my name.

I run into Keiko. She's been pacing the hall outside. She must have heard everything. "I just can't believe it. She hates me because I'm your friend."

"You know, Keiko, I'm starting to wonder about her straightness."

"Straight---Oh no, Kat, she's NOT a Lesbian."

"How do you know? Isn't it strange, though, Keiko, how she hates you just because you're my friend? And how she like, loves me?"

"It's bizarre," Keiko agrees. "But…oh well, I guess it's possible, but I don't wanna believe it."

"Neither do I, but it does make sense."

A disgusted look appears on Keiko's face. "Ugh. I'm going outside."

"Okay, seeya later."

I watch her depart. Then I do the thing I hate doing…asking people the truth.

I go back into the room, and watch Mie carefully while sitting on my bed. She watches back. I'm surprised she isn't mad again.

"Okay, Mie, much as I don't want to, I gotta ask you this."

"What?"

I screw up my face. "Are you…" This is so wrong. "Are you…" GOTTA SAY IT! "Are you…a Lesbian?"

I brace myself for some screaming, but it doesn't come. I open my eyes hesitantly. I see Mie watching me. "I dunno."

MIE'S POV:

I think I'll tease her a little bit 

KATRINA'S POV:

I move farther away from her.

"Don't be scared. Please."

"You're a Lesbian." I confess. I have homophobia.

"I might be. I don't know. I don't know if I like you like that, Kat."

"Not you. Not you, Mie. Noooo."

"Why's it so horrible?" (She is having the time of her life right now)

"I have homophobia."

She gulps. "Well, to reassure you, I think I like you just as a friend, okay? I won't bite you." (Silently laughing.)

I draw a shaky breath. "Okay, thanks Mie, f-for telling me how you feel. Are we friends?"

"Lovers." She giggles at the joke, again having a wonderful time. At this time, I am not realizing that she really is kidding.

I don't get it. I start screaming. I only stop when she starts to speak. "IT WAS A JOKE, KAT! A JOKE! ALL A JOKE! OF COURSE I'M NOT A LESBIAN!"

I pant as though I've run a marathon. "Mie, I'm not kidding you, my homophobia is really really horrible. You're gonna give me a heart attack. You can't joke like that…"

"I'm sorry. Yes, of course we're friends. You wanna go out in the gardens with me? That might calm you down."

"Okay. Just don't touch me."

She laughs and we go out to the gardens.

I talk to Keiko later. "I tell you, Keiko, she practically told me she was Lesbian! And I have homophobia," I start to cry into my hands.

"Kat, you're taking this way too seriously."

"Am I? One of my best friends is Lesbian!" I cry harder.

"She didn't say she was Lesbian."

"Sh-sh-she didn't?"

Keiko rolls her brown eyes. "NO, silly, she said she was joking!"

"Didn't sound like that to me."

"Look, I was listening to that conversation, and I'm not biased by homophobia. That's what she said, all right. Spoken by a true non-homophobic individual."

"Okay, thanks, Keiko. That made me feel much better."

"Almost anything would. And by the way, that little girl, Lahri was it, Koenma told me she was telling the truth about her whole story. Pretty incredible, huh?"

"Yeah, she sounds like she's a little genius. You know to take my Commir. Did Koenma find out if she's a demon or not?"

Keiko frowns. "He says there might have been some psychic demon in her family somewhere, but her powers are really pretty insignificant. For example, she can't control them one bit. They just pop out of her randomly, and there's nothing she can do."

"Well, why doesn't Genkai just teach her how to control 'em?"

"I dunno. She said she might get around to it after she's through with you." She claps her hands to her face. "OH NO! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE GYM FOR RETRAINING IN 10, NO, 5 MINUTES! HURRY!"

"No, Keiko, thank you for forgetting. And lost moment with Genkai is a happy one."

Reluctantly, I drag myself downstairs.

A/N Hahaha! Evil cliffy! No more unless you review!


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: YYH is not owned by me, and neither is the real person Katrina Kon. This might not be the real retraining you are expecting! Hehe

**Chapter 28: The Real Re-Training**

I watch Genkai. She is ignoring me, which isn't helping my nerves. She is simply sitting in the usual way on the hard floor. I will get her back for making me go through this again.

"Ummm…Genkai?"

She still ignores me.

"Genkai?" I ask, a little more firmly.

She still acts like I'm not even there.

Enough is really enough. "GENKAI!!!!!!" I yell, no loudly, but with the sharpness of a whip.

She jumps out of her skin, and stares at me. "Why are you here?"

"QUIT PLAYING DUMB!!! I'M HERE FOR RETRAINING! I'M LATE, SO PUNISH ME!" Hold on. Did I just ask for a punishment?

"Ah, retraining." She stretches again and stands. "Let's begin. Let me ask you a question. What will this focus on? I'll bet you'll get it wrong."

"Ohhhhh, I KNOW what it's about, lady. It's the Study of Beating Guys Up 101, Part 2, Section 1."

"I'm serious, Katrina."

"So am I. What else are we supposed to do? Have a friendly girl-to-girl chat?"

Genkai actually laughs, the idea of it being so absurd, and shrugs. "Well, I guess we can't all be intelligent." I bristle, but she doesn't care. "This is the Study of Heightening Inner Focus 101, Part 1, Section 1."

"See, I was…" I stop, confused. "What?"

Genkai looks genuinely annoyed. "Meditation, dimwit!"

Oh no. I had this class once. "YOGA? WE'RE GOING TO DO YOGA?"

"I'm glad you are so excited," says Genkai sarcastically. "It was what I was doing before you rudely awakened me."

"Ex-excite…I WON'T DO IT. Listen, you gotta believe me, my mom sent me to a yoga instructor what I was 8, and she tried to break my bones! WhenI couldn't stretch, she _made_ me stretch by physically bendingme,and I tore 3 ligamnets and 5 tendons! I frickin' hate yoga!"

"Well, you're about to love it, or otherwise we're going to be here a very long time." says Genkai irritably.

"Okay, okay, yoga is my life. Can I go now?"

She glares. "With that comment, we'll start now, one whole hour more than usual." My mouh falls open in horror. I start to respond but decide tokeep my mouth shut."First of all, just sit on the ground Indian Style."

"You gotta be kidding. Please Genkai, I know you're too nice to do this..."

"I'm serious, Katrina." When I still don't move, she adds menacingly, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Katrina, your choice."

I grumble and sit down like she told me to.

"Okay, good. Now shut your eyes and listen to your breathing."

My green eyes pop open as alert as ever. "WHAT?" I ask, revolted.

"Breathe in for a count of seven, than exhale through a count of seven. Observe."

She sits down next to me, and shuts her eyes. She then inhales, while chanting 1…2…3…4…5…6…7. Then she exhales in the same fashion.

"Genkai, this is way too easy. There must be something else."

"Such a _smart _dimwit." She says, with all the affection of a crocodile."You should get an award. There will be more to this. But for now, just simple breathing. Ok, ready…Start!"

I start this mind game. But to the contrary, it really is harder than it looks. To spite her, I breathe in as loud as a rhinoceros, so that she can't even hear herself count.

"KATRINA!"

I can it and try to focus. I hate this. You have to concentrate every second. I finally get tired and breathe normally.

"Fool! You almost had it, too, idiot!" Genkai yells, distracted from her own yoga.

"Had what?"

"Ugh! Just do it!"

"All right, all right, don't blow your capillaries." I return to this game. I won't let some bizarre form of yoga beat me. I grin to myself. I can just imagine Genkai…"I can't believe it! She survived the physical test, yet the yoga killed her…"

"Katrina, you can open your eyes now."

"Why…are we done?"

"Just open 'em."

I open them. And am shocked down to my bones. My body, my dead body, is slumped on the floor below me!

"Like it?"

"NOOOOO!!!! Is that like, some kind of trick question?"

Genkai laughs evilly. "You don't seriously think that pure yoga would improve your abilities, did you? That is what you said, right?"

"I-I'm dreaming," I say, searching for a reasonable explanation.

"No you're not. You are in the balance of astro-projection."

"Astro-what?"

"Astro-projection. You free your soul from your body."

"So-so that means I really am dead down there!"

"Correct. As am I. That's the danger with this. If you don't return from astro-projection in 3 days to your body, your physical self will rot. That's very important to watch out for."

"So, if there's a chance that I will die like this. Like, if for some reason I get stuck up here, and my body rots, what the hell is the point of learning this? 'Cause it's freaking me out."

"Well, use your imagination. What good could come out of leaving your body in the midst of a battle scene?"

"That is what I'm asking you."

"Use your imagination," she repeats.

"Um…draw your opponent into a false sense of security? By making him think you were dead? Like a sort of playing possum thing? Then, when he picks you up to kill you, return to life and knock him cold?"

She looks thoughtful. "Possibly, although that only works withenemies that have to make physical "

"And, maybe, like…hmmm…well, wait. Can people see you in astro form?"

"Not unless they are also in astro form too."

"Can you touch things in astro form?"

"Someday, you'll find out."

"Then forget it. Just tell me."

"No. I'll give you a hint to the most useful strategy of astro form.What is possession?"

I look at her funny. "To have something."

"Dimwit, think outside the box! Think of spirit form."

"Spirit form…spirit form…Genkai…you can't control people, can you?"

"Glad you caught on so fast," says Genkai sarcastically. "Yes, that is the main purpose of the astro form. You can wake people up from a coma if you enter their mind, or you can make them go insane."

"That's horrible!"

"Yes, but a useful power. I'll tell you everything you need to know about it, okay? No interruptions, got it?"

I nod.

"Okay, the same Indianmonks who founded yoga were the ones who also founded astro-projection. Several found they could detach themselves if they stayed in meditation long enough. They passedthe secreton to their children, who passed in on to their children…etcetera. Anyway, the powers include that you have to undergo serious long periods of meditation to be able to do it at will. Usually, at least a month for someone your age, but as you are part demon, the process was greatly speeded up. And you weren't even trying. Anyway, once you are in astro form, you can pass through anything. You are a ghost, so that's how it works. You cannot touch anything solid directly, but indirectly there are...methods. However, you can touch other ghosts. But there are many advantages too. You can take over people's minds as long as they are asleep or knocked out. You know, unconscious. All you have to do is zoom into their head area and you will absorb yourself automatically. To come back out, just go back out the same way you came in. To return to your own body, just act as though you're trying to posess yourself. Easy enough?"

"Sure. But just one thing. I CAN'T MOVE!"

"Yes. You have to totally re-coordinate yourself in ghost form. Like learning to walk as a child. Your body has been trained to move, but that is just your brain and nerves moving. Your soul technically is just your personality and life force."

"Noooo. Did Yusuke endure this?"

"No. It wasn't around when he was being trained. Consider yourself privileged."

"I need this as much as I need a hole in the head."

"Both of which would be appreciated by us all. Time to start. Try to move your left hand."

I do try. I know how it is supposed to move, but it isn't working. Now I know why babies cry so much. Do they feel like the have weights strapped to their appendages too?

"You're not trying!"

"YES I AM!!!!!"

"Not near hard enough. Do it some more."

After what seems like thousands of tries, it starts to move correctly. A little twitchy, but still moving. "YES!!!!!"

"Very good. Now for the other arm."

I try to laugh. "You are kidding, right?"

"Nope."

"Ah...ah...no..."

"The other arm, please, Katrina."

I groan and concentrate some more.

555555555555555

I'm a wreck by the time she says it's time to go to bed, even though I can move both arms and one leg. When I re-enter my body, I'm surprised to feel that nothing hurts directly. I guess it's just my psyche that is in pain.

I stumble upstairs, and when I get to my room, I miss the bed. I drop like a stone onto the rug.

Sweet quiet.

A/N R&R, and as long as I have a first flame, I want to say something. I do accept flames, but please enclose what you liked about it as well as the stuff that categorizes you as a flame. Thanks!


	29. Chpater 29

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or the real person Katrina Kon. Thank you all reviewers!

**Chapter 29: Shizzy's Hunch**

"Wow, so she's really making you train your soul as well as your body?"

"Keiko, if this is a joke, it's a rather poor one. She is making me do yoga and kill myself!"

"Why does your spirit of all things need to be trained?"

"Go ask Conan the Barbarian."

"Um, Conan was a guy."

I bite back the angry words I want to throw at her. "Whatever. But Genkai acts enough like a guy as it is."

"Haha, oh yeah, and Koenma wanted to see you today, for some reason. Something concerning Lahri. He also said that you had better not show up late."

"Why does everyonefoward their messages through you, Keiko? Or through Mie? Why doesn't he just tell me himself? All these errands…they never end!"

Keiko can't seem to think up an answer to this. I didn't expect one. Griping to friends just has an irresistible pleasure.

I grumble some more and depart from her. My knees scream all the way up to the top tower where Koenma is. I've been doing too much walking in spirit form with the hag. Now my body is starting to feel some complaints as well. Genkai is saying I am making good progress, for I can now move everything, even just a little. I still say it's a waste of time and energy, though. I DON'T CARE WHAT SHE SAYS; I AM NEVER GOING TO USE THIS PIECE OF CRAP SKILL!

I enter loudly and am about to announce my name when I hear voices. It's Koenma and Shizuru.

Ugh. I shut the door quietly. I still and always will hate that girl, Kuwababara's sister or not. I know it is unreasonable, butI think getting thrown10 feet is enough reason to hold a grudge. **(A/N for readers who donot know what I'm talking about, read the new and improved 1-3 chapters)**I never wanted to believe that she would be a part of this team, but I guess I have to accept it now. I just do not forgive easily, that's all. I'm not a kind little girl anymore, at least in terms of training with Genkai. Although, was I _ever_ a kind little girl?

Oh well. I listen closely. "Shizuru, I really don't know what you are basing your accusations upon!"

"Koenma, don't pretend this isn't happening! Something in that girl's story just doesn't fit right, you know? And me and my bro are supposed to have super sense to these kinds of things!"

"Shizuru," says Koenma patiently, "No one doubts your sixth sense. You are above average, but that doesn't make a difference. My potion proved she is telling the truth."

"What if she didn't tell the whole truth, Koenma? What if she's a triple agent? What if she just admitted part of the truth?"

Koenma rolls his eyes. "To calm your aching nerves, I shall put her under a Deceit Sensor. You may rest in peace already. And it's double agent."

Shizuru makes a strangled sound of rage, like amouse getting stepped on, and flies out the door. She would have run into the wall if I hadn't stopped her.

"What do you want?" She growls.

"Just to talk."

"About what, freak?"

I'll let that slide. I don't care much anymore. I might have found someone who shares my opinion. I can release my grudge for a second."Lahri."

"Oh, the other freak. I guess you heard me say I don't trust her?"

"Um-hm. I also don't."

She stops staring at me in rage and hurt and looks at me, puzzled. "You don't?"

"Well like you said, something didn't fit right. Why would she want my Commir?"

"That's what I wondered. I think she wanted it for something else other than beauty."

"Okay." What else can I say?

She seems to remember I'm her worst enemy. "Seeya, bitch."

"Seeya, cow."

I can tell she's holding back a grin as she walks down the stairs.

I walk into Koenma's office. "Well, I see you clearly don't hate Shizuru."

"Yes I do. I hate her to the bottom of my heart."

"Then…wha…?"

"I just feel sorry for her. You know how her boyfriend died…hehe. It figures she'd pick someone who was a sadistic hater of the human race."

Koenma shakes his head. "Well, first of all, I think this belongs to you." He holds out the Mirror that Lahri stole.

I take it without comment.

"And secondly, I wanted to know your opinion on Lahri as well as Shizuru's."

"Well, I think Shizuru has a point."

"Go on."

"Well, think about it. Why would she just take my Commir? She doesn't seem the type to care about beauty or her looks."

"I stick by my original guess that the shininess would appeal to any girl her age."

"But Hiei had a Mirror in his back pocket as well. Why take mine?"

"Does your Mirror have anything different from the rest on it?"

"Actually, it does." I hold it out. "See this button? I press that when I'm in trouble, and I onlyspeak into the Mirror when I want to talk. Do you think she might have taken this Mirror, my Mirror, just so that I couldn't call for help?"

"Now you think about this. How would she have known that your Mirror had this extra function?"

"I don't know." I really don't have an answer for everything. "I guess she is innocent, like, there's nothing against her except that minor theft. but there's just something about her..." I trail off.

"Well, it's a baseless hunch, but you are highly intelligent, as is Shizuru-"

I emit a loud cough.

"-so keep it up. I'd like you to look into this further. Do it together if you can."

"Koenma, I can talk to her. I can't team up with her."

He laughs. "Good day, then."

"Goodbye. And so this was the grand meeting that I had better not show up late for?"

He shrugs. "Well, that can wait, I guess. It was just this little thing where I wanted you to go one-on-one with Lahri, but it turns out that she escaped whenI wasn't looking. Probably went back to her room. As I said, it wasn't that important anyway. She isn't a talker. Not very important."

"Well, if you say so." I walk out the door, and quickly go to my room. I need to think.

I begin processing this data in my head once I am sitting my bed. I seem to have come to a conclusion, but I can't pin it down. One of those stuck-in-the-back-of-your-head thoughts. And it's maddening.

I grumble to myself and grudgingly begin to practice my astro power.

A/NKeep reviewing! Sorry it was kinda short, all right, really short, but it'll get longer. I just don't know what else to fit into this thing. This was just a bridge for later events. And no, she doesn't pair up with Shizuru, I wouldn't be wuite that cruel...

Or would I...


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or the real person Katrina Kon.

**Chapter 30:**

When I wake up for a second time, I still have no luck in getting that devilish thought. I'm starting to believe it really is hopeless.

I get out of my pajamas, and put on my shoes along with all my other workaday clothes. I wish I had packed more. I still have to wear these stupid school uniforms too. And I have those lessons with Genkai.

Forget Genkai. Screw the cranky old frog.I'm going to talk in person to Lahri. Try to figure her out. It certainly couldn't hurt one little bit. And figuring out Lahri is going to be a huge task. Like trying to shop a tree down with a pencil.

Luckily, her room is very close to mine, so I just crawl along the hallway to her room. I straighten up before I open the door to look more intimidating. I notice I have grown taller. I'm now around 5'7". Yay!

I knock. "Lahri, it's time to meet the Easter Bunny. YAY!"

She opens the door with a confused expression. "Er…what?"

I remember the 'er' thing. Someone I knew used to say that. But who?

"I just wanted to talk to you, Lahri. Tell me how you feel."

"What about?"

I sweatdrop. "Just lemme in."

Reluctantly, she opens the door. I enter her room, and see that it is shrouded in pictures with different colored birds on them. Finches, toucans, ravens, everything you can think of is on these originally blank white walls.

Hm.

An idea forms, but I ignore it. "So, what's been going on in your life, Lahri?"

"Don't hafta tell you."

"No, I-I…I trained in psychology for a while. I can help you."

She opens her mouth, and of course my little hopes soar, but it's only to say, "I need to go to the bathroom."

Convenient. I dismiss her, but look around her room a little more. I inspect the posters, feeling over them for hidden compartments, but I find nothing. I then proceed to the bed. It's really soft, probably with a quail down interior. It even says so on the tag of the mattress: HANDMADE IN TAIWAN. And then: COMPLETE WITH POCKETS. Funny Lahri would leave something like this lying around. The small tag is complete with a miniscule map of how to find the secret compartments. I guess she forgot to throw it out. I follow it, while squinting, and I see that the compartment is right at the edge of the mattress. I slip my hand inside and feel something cold and hard and thin, almost feeling like a flat plastic tube that's not hollow.

I start to pull it out to see what it is, but then I jump. I heard something thunk. Followed by a crash. Sounded like someone dropped a car from the Empire State Building, followed by a piece of pottery.

I hurriedly run out the door and into the area where I heard it. There I see Lahri crouched on the floor, holding her head. Before her is a smashed Deceit Detector (DD).

She has started to cry. I see a bump swelling on her head. What the hell did she do, headbutt the thing?Koenma and almost everyone else has arrived to see what caused the wreckage.

"WHAT HAPPENED HERE?" Yells teen Koenma. He tries to pick up the pieces of the glass DD, but it only crumbles further in his hands. "You clumsy girl! Now I'll have to order a new one and these are soooooo pricey!"

Mie steps in. "Koenma, it was an accident! Don't be so hard on her! I saw the whole thing. She just tripped into that table and it fell!"

Koenma grumbles, but he and the crowd begin to disperse. I look at Lahri, and askher for a private minute with her.

I pull her into a corner. "That wasn't an accident, was it, Lahri?"

She looks at me blandly. "Yes, it was. Why wouldn't it be an accident? I don't know, Katrina, tell me!"

"All right, all right, I just wanted to make sure." I leave her wearing a look of confusion.

But as I walk away, I start to have second thoughts. Maybe that wasn't very wise, to let her know I think I'm onto her. But I have no proof. I don't think she's a spy just because there's no way she could be meeting a boss, and all communications are watched outside of the palace.

But, I guess it's over and done with. I just wish my lesson with Genkai was over and done with as well. But of course that couldn't happen.

I trudge down to the gym. There I see Genkai waiting for me. In that stupid yoga position. Taped to her knee is a note: Release your soul.

She'd make a good doorstop, sitting like a rock like that.

I laugh and mimic her position. Within a minute I am in Astro-Land.

Genkai's soul motions to me. I come over, having finally gained near-full control over my body because of practice before bed every night. This is now the 6th consecutive lesson that I've had.

"Well, I see you can walk now."

"No, really?"

"Well, good job, then. Now we move on."

"Move onto what?" I ask, dreading the answer.

"Taking over unoccupied bodies, excluding your own."

"COOL! WE CAN FINALLY START THAT NOW?"

"Yes, you can. Since there's no one else here, you'll have to settle for mine, whereas I'll enter yours."

"Okay, how do you do it?"

"This is more complicated than re-entering your own body. You'll have to deal with a whole new body's defenses."

"You mean, like, antibodies?"

She gives me a withering look. "NO, child, not antibodies, mental defenses."

"Which are…"

"The defenses to prevent someone else's soul from entering their body. Psychic defenses."

"Hmph. How strong are yours?"

"Rather strong, I'm afraid. I will be very surprised if you do it on your first try."

"Try me. So I just dive into your head area?"

"Correct. Let's see how you do. Go."

I make a fell swoop for her head, and enter her brain.

It has gotta be the weirdest experience I will ever feel. I'm entering a kind of chamber-like temple. But my "Spider senses" if that's what you want to call them, are tingling. Something is here with me. I dodge just in time as something large whistles past my head, ruffling my hair with the speed. I look up in the direction of where it should have gone, but oddly, nothing is there. Unnerved, I proceed, looking for something to help me take over.

Then that same thing really gets me hard in the neck. I massage it furiously, and catch a glimpse of whatever-it-is, a kind of swan-like shadow.

Then it simply vanishes into the wall. Like it wasn't even there.

Now it's getting deeper, and darker as well. It's almost as though I'm coming down into a core. At least, that's what I assume.

The swans are getting more and more in numbers, and are far more accurate. I dodge a few, but their elapsed turnaround time negates it. I start to fly (I'm a ghost, remember) and see something bright at the other end. I fly toward it even faster, taking all of the swan attacks.

There I see a frozen version of a blue Genkai, frozen in a Kung Fu pose and as soon as I get near it, the swan attacks stop. I put down my guard, and touch the Genkai statue. It is as cold as ice. So naturally, I believe it is just a symbol of who should be operating the body.

The hands summons unseen energy, and I have no time to dodge. Then, a force like none I've ever felt slams into me. Pain beyond pain. Icy, burning, rough, soft, terrible, wonderful…

"I did warn you." I wake up to see Genkai smiling at me. You let your guard down, and it cost you. Dearly."

"But I thought you just had geese protecting you!"

She turns slightly pink. "Swans, girl, swans. And they were just the preliminaries. I will say this, though, no one ever got as far as you did. The swans took care of most of 'em within minutes."

"Ah, they weren't that tough. Let me try again."

"All right. And try very hard not to make me go insane. The meaning of that being don't use any attacks on the swans. It wouldn't affect them anyway."

"Got it." I re-enter her head. This time, I think I entered the memory section. Because I am surrounded by what looks like movie screens. A lot of them picture a pretty pink-haired girl that oddly resembles…Genkai? And still others feature a huge, muscular man wearing pointed black sunglasses. He is usually talking tenderly toward her, so I suppose he's the person called Tiguro. He really doesn't look like a demon though.

But wait here's another memory. It shows a guy resembling Tiguro, only he's gray and is shooting steam out of ridges on his shoulders. And he's fighting…Yusuke? Other memories show that Yusuke is holding an odd teddy bear, kind of like a blue penguin. It says 'Bu' a lot.

Man, I could stay down here forever. But I'm wasting my time. I have to get to the core again, and avoid those birds.

I soar out of memory lane very fast. It is this speed that is preventing the birds from using some of their best moves. I reach the core much faster than before, and see the dead statue of Genkai. I know not to touch it this time, for if I get another hit like the one before, I might not be able to take it. So I sneak behind the statue this time and move further into the heart of Genkai's brain.

Then I hear something. Something like energy suction…

I scream and jump in time to avoid the second wave. The statue has been following me! It's cackling madly, eyes glowing freakishly. Now I'm really afraid. This…this_thing_ is the very child of nightmares.

I lose control and have a panic attack. I screech and zoom away as fast as I can. The beast is following me…gaining on me…

I yell and shoot an energy beam at it, something up until now I didn't know how I could do. I guess fear really does give us newfound talents. I hit it, and it starts to fall behind. I zoom even faster ahead, then I see a small room. I run inside and shut the black door. Hard.

Next I feel a strange melting sensation...

Now I am seeing something through small cameras…Genkai's eyes. I feel the hard stone floor with Genkai's body. I blink, and suddenly, I AM Genkai.

I stand up. I also see that my body is standing up as well. It's kind of weird, like one of those dreams where you are watching yourself doing something and doing it at the same time. My body is tall, from Genkai's perspective.

Then I, that is to say, my body, speaks. "Not bad, Katrina, you escaped the sentinels." It's my body talking, but unmistakably Genkai's voice.

"Boy, are you short or what?" Smirks Myself.

I growl. "Whatever. But you know, I can use this…this…this little agile well trained body against you."

"Oh, aren't I scared. You don't know how to tap into my strength."

"Or do I."

"What?"

Rage, Genkai. Feel the rage. I start making myself angry, and laugh when her aura surrounds me. "Mwahahahahahahahahahahah!"

"Good. You can control my power. Now you can let me have my body back."

"No, I don't think I'm ready just yet." I laugh and blast a whole through the wall. "This is more strength than I ever thought I could possibly have. I want a little joyride first."

"WHAT? YOU GET OF THERE THIS INSTANT!"

"And get killed by your super sentinel? Don't think so.I'd give your little oldbody a heart attack!" I mock fainting.

"GET OUT OF THERE! THAT IS MY PROPERTY!"

"Or you'll what?"

"I'll…don't make me."

"You just don't have anything to make."

Angry silence.

"Now everyone will just think I'm you!" I skip merrily out, and run into Keiko.

I run into someone. "Oh…Genkai!"

"Hello, Ms. Yukimura." I begin, deepening my voice slightly. I can hear Genkai slap her face in the background. Mwahahahaha!

"Miss Yukimura? Just call me Keiko!"

"Well, I'm in a happy mood today! And don't mind my…ahem…student, she's pretending to be me today."

I wave to her and make like I'm going down to dinner. But really I only round the corner so I can listen.

I see Keiko go in and start to talk to who she thinks is me. "Hey Kat, what's wrong? You look really down about something."

"Listen Keiko, I'm Genkai! The real Katrina is in my body!"

"Now you're losing it. You're joking right?"

Genkai, who has been sputtering incoherently, finally gives up. "Yes I was, PAL. Let's go eat."

I run down so they don't see me. I skip into the hall and everyone stares at me. Oh well. It's not really me they're seeing, so I don't mind. Sucks for ol' Genkai. She'll wish she never bullied me.

"HI GUYS! NICE TO SEE SO MANY HAPPY FACES!" I shout at the top of my lungs. Genkai, who has just entered with Keiko, goes white as a sheet.

Ahah, you stupid bitch.

A/N R&R! But anyway, what do you think of her hijacking?

Thank you previous reviewers!


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or the real person Katrina Kon.

**Chapter 31:**

What should I do first in this body? Something to really hurt Genkai's reputation.

I stare hungrily down at my notebook paper. It is currently lunchtime, but I'm not eating. I'm making a list of all of the things that I could embarrass Genkai the most with. So far, my list includes:

Sing in front of everyone really badly

Flirt with every eligible person

Walk around buck-toothed, and

Answer "why?" to every single question asked of me

This could be the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. The chance to get Genkai back! To delicious for words!

I start to laugh to myself. Then Kurama turns to me. "Genkai, are you feeling all right?"

"Certainly, pal, why do you ask?"

"Pal?" He shakes his head. "You've just been acting really perky and weird lately. Not at all like your usual self."

"Oh, just the best thing in my life has ever happened to me today!" I giggle like a little girl.

"What?"

"Oh, don't be so nosy." I put Genkai's gnarled finger on his nose and press in. Now he looks like a red-haired hog.

When I let go, several people laugh at the expression on Kurama's face. It is an expression of mingled horror and alarm.

"Erm…what are you writing here?" He asks, gesturing at my paper.

"_Nooooooosy_," I whisper for effect. "_Nosy."_

He gives up trying to talk to me. I think I have him scared. Mwahahaha.

I make my first mistake at this time. I retreat to my real room, when I should have gone to Genkai's room. Keiko and my body walk in to find me there.

"Hey, Genkai, what are you doing here?" Asks Keiko, surprised.

"Yeah, _Genkai._ What are you doing here?" My body smirks.

"Oh…just inspecting…for my…lost…pen."

"Sitting at the desk?"

"Uh-huh."

My body/Katrina presses me some more. "What makes you think you lost it at the desk?"

Luckily, I have an answer for that. "Young lady, as your teacher, I do not wish to be interrogated."

My body blanches. My body's face grows red.

"Well, girls, I'll be leaving you now. I will serenade the cafeteria now."

Genkai/My Bodyactually shrieks. Keiko looks at her funny. "I-I need to talk with my _teacher_ now, Keiko."

"Okay, sure. Come back when you're ready."

My body leads me out furiously and drags me into a corner of the hall. "Don't do that," she whispers menacingly.

"Or you'll what, child?"

"I am your teacher! Listen to me!"

"Maybe you should have thought about what a vengeful person I am before you started bullying me."

Genkai is lost for words. She just stares at me. Then finally, "Please give me my body back. PLEASE!"

Haha. Just what I was hoping for. Blackmail. "Well, since you asked nicely, I will give it back in two days. Fair enough?"

"TWO WHOLE DAYS! I WANT IT NOW!"

"Or you'll what?" I repeat. "You're weaker than me, both in social status and power. There's nothing you can do."

She stares. We stand without talking for several minutes. "All right. Two days. Swear it."

I hold up my right hand, grinning. "I swear it. One more thing…"

"WHAT?"

"We both have to be nicer to each other when we get our real bodies back, all right?"

She looks at me, this time out of respect rather than anger. "All right. I'll try to be nicer. I know I haven't always been nice…" Her eyes fill with totally fake tears and she sticks out her lower lip. Wow. I never knew I could make my face that convincing before.

"NO, YOU MAY NOT HAVE YOUR BODY BACK! Nice try, though."

She glares at me, and I am reminded of that look-alike sentinel in her mind, even though it is not her body making the face. Scary. "Then don't expect me to go easy on your reputation."

"You're on."

She nods grimly, and we both go in opposite directions.

Now I must face another problem: I have no idea where Genkai's room is.

Oh well. I'll just ask someone. And that someone is little Hiei.

I walk up with my buck-toothed impression. "UHHHHH, HIEI?"

He turns around and looks up, expecting to see Kuwabara, but then looks down at Genkai's body. The expression on his face is priceless. Not so different from the one Kurama gave me at lunch, but coming from Hiei, it's a whole lot funnier. It takes him a while to get that poker face back. "Er…what?"

"UHHH, WA-AL, I forgotten where my roomie is."

"Genkai, are you drunk?"

"Drunk? WHAT DOES that mean?"

He wrinkles his nose in disgust. "Follow me, you crazy old bat."

"A bat! Hahahahaa!" I flap my arms like wings. Hiei keeps his distance from me. I'm still laughing like Ed on that stupid American Ed, Edd and Eddy show. If I were Hiei, I wouldn't go near me either.

"Here it is." He shows me a room. "Go inside and calm down please."

"Okay, handsome." (Well, I'm lying, so sue me...)

He freezes. He stares at me. Seems to have just died standing up. I laugh.

"J-just go in there and soak your fat head."

"Hawhawhaw." I walk inside Genkai's room. Hiei leaves rather quickly. As in super speed quickly.

My first impression is that he led me to a Better Bodies store by mistake. This room is huge, with lots of weight lifting material. Some I know the names of, others I don't. But all in all, this is one cool room. For such an old bat, she certainly does work out a lot. I remember the lesson where I badgered her about her age…

(memory) 5555555555555

"Genkai, how old are you?"

"None of your business."

"Tell me! Please?"

"A hint."

"Okay!"

"Five times as old as you."

"13x5, 13x5…YOU'RE 65?"

"What of it?"

"Wow, you're freakin' old!"

"I am not," she answered crossly.

"Dude, you're like, a GEEZER!"

"I am not!!!!!!"

"So that's why you're so wrinkly!"

I think that was the final straw for her. She gave me a nice crack on the noggin, and I was out for the rest of the day. I still have the scar. But I accomplished what I wanted to do, cuz I got out of a whole day of lessons.

Ah, memories, memories! Such GOOD times I had with her!

Well, now I'm getting my payback.

I don't think I did enough to embarrass her today, though. Well, at least there's tomorrow and the next day. Then they will hear my voice in the cafeteria…and I will crack all of their glasses.

I start to ride on a treadmill-like piece of equipment and don't even notice my body walking in. Genkai has to shout to be heard over the din of the machine.

"KATRINA!"

I giggle. "I'm not Katrina, you are." I slow down the treadmill.

She rolls her eyes. "Okay, _Genkai,_ I want you to question Lahri."

"As if…wait…what?"

"I said, I want you to question Lahri."

"Why?"

"Because I tried to question her myself, today. She obviously doesn't take you seriously. Maybe she will take my body seriously, or at least more so than you, and also, you know her better than I."

"No, Genkai, that won't work. Lahri is like a clam in these situations. I tried already, but she kept making excuses to get away from me."

"But think about it, Katrina, I don't think she smashed that Sensor by accident, do you?"

"Oh, I think it was accidental. It just doesn't fit.But as soon as Koenma gets a new one, he can…"

"Katrina, she'll smash it again. Or pin it on someone else."

"She won't give in. We'll have t' let her come to us." I really don't want to talk to her.

"Then give me back my body and I'll do it."

"NO! Genkai, we had a deal!"

Genkai punches the wall in rage, and runs out to my room. Jeez. She acts tough, but deep down she's still a wishy-washy old lady. I resume the treadmill.

No. Genkai's gonna suffer the consequences of being a bitch. I run harder.

But what will she do to me in her own payback?

5555555555555555555

Random author blah blah:

Hm...nothing to say....just review.


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or the real person Katrina Kon.

**Chapter 32: **

"Genkai. Genkai!"

"Ermph…"

"Genkai, we're due for a meeting now! Wake up!"

"It's too early…"

"Do I have to set Koenma on you?"

"ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, I'M UP!" I sit up and glare at my attacker. It's Kurama.

"Sorry, Gen, but we have to go now. We're already late."

"Don't call me Gen! And I need to change, so seeya."

He leaves with a nasty look on his face. I hurriedly dress and run outside to where he's waiting. "Genkai, I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

He fights back a laugh, I can tell. "Did you really call Hiei handsome?"

I blush faintly. Genai's hard face makes it hard to blush. I had a hard enough time trying to remold her face for half the time. It's frozen in a dead frown.

Lucky he can't see it because the sun hasn't risen yet. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Kurama, can I trust you? I mean, really trust you?"

"I guess." He shrugs.

"Well, I'm not Genkai."

"Oh, I knew that. I wondered when you'd tell me."

I'm taken aback. "Y-you did? How…what gave me away?"

"It was kind of obvious you couldn't be Genkai. You just went a little overboard with the perky attitude. It took me a while to guess whom. I figured it out only because I remembered you had astro-projection lessons with Genkai, and I knew you thought she was too rough on you. I figured you had snapped and hijacked her body to get back at her, Katrina. And Katrina is acting like herself either."

I decide not to ask how different I am acting. I don't want to know. "Oh, well, that saves me a lot of explaining."

"I'm glad. Now my other question was that do you really think Hiei's cute?"

"No, not really. I just said that to unnerve him." I laugh. "And succeeded."

"Oh, okay."

"Why didja want to know?"

"Oh, no reason." He starts to grin maniacally.

"Hiei doesn't like me, okay? So get it out of your head."

"You're right. He doesn't like Genkai…"

"Okay, then play it your way. Pretend that I'm in my real body. Hiei doesn't like me in my real body, okay?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I think he liked to hear you thought he was cute, though."

"But G_enkai's body _said that, not me."

"But I told him."

"Oh crap. You didn't. You _wouldn't_."

He smiles. "Just kidding. He doesn't know. Ready to give back Genkai's body yet?"

"Even if I did, I couldn't. We made a deal! I have her body today and tomorrow!"

"Oh well. That's that. We're here."

We've come to the doorway of an extension of the palace. It looks like one of those Navajo longhouses. And I hear A LOT of people inside. But it must be better than this fog.

"Ya know, what is this meeting about?" I ask.

"Lahri."

"Her again?"

"Yeah. This shouldn't take long." He leads me into a large, brightly lit room. HE tells me which seat to take, and I sit.

"OK!" Roars someone on a loudspeaker, deadening me temporarily. "Now that everyone is present and accounted for, I propose a discussion of ideas of the human female Lahri!"

Talk bubbles up. "OK, OK, all vote in favor of innocence!"A lot of people raise their hands. "Guilt!" No one. "Undecided!" Several, including me, raise their hands.

"Are we in court?" I ask Kurama.

"Spirit Court. It's a little different."

"NOW EACH PERSON WILL SAY THEIR BELIEFS!"

So it goes around and around and around, boring me to death. Most of them all think there is not enough evidence for Lahri's guilt.

It is finally mine. I stand up in my chair, so I can be seen, and take a deep breath. "First of all," I begin, loudly and clearly, "I'd like to point out the fact of the lack of evidence that the prosecution presents to us. There is also little evidence in her favor. For instance, she could just be a naughty little beggar girl who followed some people who were about to open a Spirit Portal. On the other hand, she could just be an apparition disguised as a human." I stare nervously. "Uh, that's all."

"OK. NEXT!!!!!"

The meeting ends soon after my speech. I talk to Kurama afterwards. I debate on whether to talk about the knife.

I could tell him about the knife, but Lahri probably went to some lengths to hide it after I discovered and stupidly told her about it. And as for anything else, that didn't point towards her guilt either.

I guess I'm on my own with this case. But is it even a case? I mean, she could just be a noughty beggar girl, as I put it.

I walk into mine, or rather, Genkai's room. I need to prepare for my serenade, which will be at lunch.

I look through her dresser. I need to use a footstool.There's got to be something ugly that she wears besides that weird little tunic!

Wait. What's this hard thing?

I take out a small bottle whick looks like aprescription drug. I whirl it in a circle, and see some faint lettering: Farina. No instructions. Just that word.

Farina? Is that a pill or what?

Oh well. I guess it's her business. I pull out a random outfit. it's another tunic, but is pink, with an orange hem. Perfectly ugly. I take off the old, red and green tunic and put on the new one. I guess that sets me. I might as well get well rested.

I dodge all of the exercise instruments and I am about to flop myself on the bed when I sense something move in the semi-darkness, right by the dresser. It's just a trickle of energy, so it must be…

"Lahri, that had better not be you." I whisper menacingly. I search around the room quiet as a mouse, and I bolt the door shut so she can't just escape. It doesn't take me long. She is hiding along the edge of the bed.

I stare at her angrily. "Lahri, what are you doing here?"

She stares at me with a face full of terror. "I---I……"

"What are you doing in my room?"

"I was just…trying to find my lost pen." I catch a tiny hint of sarcasm. And I remember…that's exactly what I said to Genkai and Keiko the other day. Strange. Could she have listened in on us? Or more importantly, my room.

"You couldn't have gotten another pen, could you, kid?"

"I---I'm sorry!"

"I'll let you off if you get out right now."

She only walks to the door, unbolts it, and runs out crying. I'm beginning to figure out that she makes her foes feel sorry for her so she won't get hurt as bad. Rather cowardly, in my opinion.

Oh well. It's not that big of a deal. There's nothing in Genkai's room that she could either want or carry away. Who wants a bunch of old tunics or exercise equipment or...the Farina?

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It is my stomach that wakes me up. Or maybe it was Lahri. In my room. Snooping.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU _DOING_ IN HERE, YOU SICK FREAK?"

She jumps. Then starts to cry.

"OOOOH NO, THAT WON'T WORK THIS TIME."

She cries harder. I don't care. I'm going to find out what this is all about. I lead her by theear up to Koenma's lair and knock on the door forcefully.

"KOENMA, KOENMA! I HAVE A LITTLE DISHONEST THIEF HERE TO SEE YOU!"

He opens the door, looking mildly surprised. "Uh…come in?"

"I will." I open the door roughlyand lead Lahri out in front of me.

Koenma motions me to sit in front of his desk. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

"When I came back from the meeting this morning, I went up to my room to get some more sleep. I found Lahri, who had a story saying that she was looking for her lost pen. I didn't feel the matter was worth pursuing, so I let the little cretin go. Then, after I went to sleep, I woke up because I was hungry." Someone snickers. "Then I found her again, snooping, after I expressly told her not to. I'd like you to find out what she wants in there, Koenma, 'cause she isn't telling me anything."

"Genkai, I have no parts to do so! Because the Truth Potion was stolen a little while ago, two days, to be exact, and we all know Lahri smashed the Secrecy Sensor. Nothing can be done about it."

Lahri sighs with relief. I wouldn't blame her if I were her. She just escaped again!

I've been stalemated.

"Goodbye." I walk out with a huff.

Outside the office, I see my body waiting for me. Genkai speaks. "Hi Genkai!"

"HI KATRINA!" I say, in a disgustingly cheery voice.

She checks to see that no one is watching, and then comes sloser and whispers, "I wanted to talk to you about something, Katrina."

"What about?" I ask warily.

"Well, we have to get our rightful bodies back. Today."

"WHYYYYY?" I sound like a kid who just got denied a chocolate bar.

"Becaaaaaaaaaaaaaause we will be stuck in each other's bodies for good if we don't change back now."

"How do you figure that?"

"Don't you remember the first lesson? The rightful soul has to be in the corresponding body in two days. It's two days today!"

"Wait a sec! It is not! I still have one more day! Nice try, though."

"I didn't tell you something in the first meeting. I thought we would have two days because I thought our power levels were more similar. Apparently, I am too strong for your soul. Your soul is used to a certain amount of Spirit Energy, and mine is so much higher you will weaken. You've been sleeping more, as am I. That's the first sign."

"DAMN! Is there any way we can stop this?"

"There is one way, through a potion called the Farina. The Farina will prevent your body from dying even if the soul stays out for a prolonged period of time, as long a it is taken every two days. It was in my dresser, but now something has happened to it and I have none left."

"No other way?"

"Nope."

I groan. "But I didn't get to sing!"

Genkai gives a cough that resembles "Phew!" and drags me back to our training ground. "And what the hell are you wearing?"

I ignore that andstop. "Oh no. I haven't exacted my revenge yet."

"Yes you have."

"No! Let go!"

"Listen," she says, dragging me onward, "The thing you should know is..."

I have already fled. The only thing she is dragging is my sash.

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"Ladies and Gentleman," I say, on top of Yusuke's and Kuwabara's and Yukina's and Keiko'stable, "I would like to sing a song honoring my Christmas." It is February.

Awkward silence.

Ihear the doors slam and I see my body come in, looking livid. She jumps up on the table too, and says more or less whatI just said.

Everyone except Kurama looks terrified.

Laughing, I start to sing Yankee Doodle and Old MacDonald and every other song I know in English, and My body counters in Japanese.

I stop between words, and hiss, "Get out of here."

"Why?" She hisses between words. "It was- ALL - right for you - DANDY - to do it to me - SO."

I get an idea. I start to perform a kicking routine, although I rotate, and in the process kick my body in the legs. My body squeals. I fi can just kick her down I should be all right.

I continue to sing loudly and gratingly.

My body counters with a wigglyarm dance, and slaps me about 5 times upside the head. She still sings. I have a pretty good voice, from the way she's singing it.

So now we are kicking and slapping. We are so immature.

I know I'll be embarrassed later, but it's so worth it because she's going to get hit so much harder than me.

Finally, by some freak coincidence, we stop on the same note, and we both bow politely and thank the audience. Yusuke loudly voices that he doesn't know how we got ahold of heroin, but that he will personally kill us next time we do it.

Then, the embarrassment sets in, and we both scream and run out the door, panting hard.

We look at each other and grin strangely.

Much as I don't want to, I agree to getting our rightful bodies back. It is fair, after all.

So we meditate right there, and when I open my eyes, I'm a ghost. So's Genkai.

"Genkai, I've been wondering…"

"What?"

"What embarrassing things did you make me do?"

She smiles evilly. "Oh, I expect you'll soon find out."

"Just tell me one thing and I'll tell you one of my things."

"Okay…" She is overcome with a huge fit of laughter. "Hiei…was…quite surprised…when you asked…him out."

Time freezes. "Oh Genkai, you didn't. You wouldn't."

"I did. And I thought you'd be happy. You could never work up the nerve to ask him yourself."

"But I---I DON'T WANT A BOYFRIEND!"

"You got one, honey." With that comment, she dives into her own body. I do the same. I look forward to hitting her when I'm solid again.

I stand up, and am frightened by the height. Have I just gotten used to Genkai's little body or have I gotten taller?

"Oh, you're wondering why you're taller. Well, different spirits in your body promotes growth so now you've gained…" She whips out a tape measure. "Wow. You're1 inch taller! A whopping 5'8"!"

"Wow." I always wanted to be tall.

"Now, about Hiei."

"Don't talk to me about him. Why did you ask him out?"

"Well, he likes you somewhat, and you have similar personalities. You have to start somewhere."

"How would you like it if I set you up with Tiguro?"

She pales. "Tiguro's dead."

"NO, if I brought him back. How would you like to go out with him?"

"I was way wrong about Tiguro. All he wanted was to kill me. I thought I was in love but I wasn't. That's the truth. I hate him."

"Then why did you set me up with someone I hate?"

"You hate Hiei?" A smile is playing on her thin lips.

"I---I---SHUT UP! WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW?"

"I asked you," she says evenly, "Whether you hate him or not."

"I don't know, all right? I don't hate him, but I don't love him either."

"Oh somewhere in between. May your first date tonight be a good one."

"Tonight. You asked him out tonight. You're kidding."

"Nope."

She walks out, taking my silence as her cue. "You want to get dressed."

She doesn't even catch me when I faint.

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A/N Hahahaha! This is gonna be good. Review! But it isn't as bad as Genkai is making it out to be. You'll all see...


	33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or the real person Katrina Kon.

**Chapter 33: **

I wake up. Sore from fainting. Traumatized by cruelty.

My life could not get worse. I never thought Genkai was cruel. Now I know better.

I don't want to go out with him. I don't. I'm not ready for boys. I had hoped I never would be. But wait, couldn't I just say I have to watch Lahri or someone? Couldn't I? Couldn't I?

No. I don't want to be a jerk to Hiei. And doing that would qualify as being an A plus jerk.

NO. My only option is to do so. I'll have to live with it.

I mean, I was wrong of me to take Genkai's body, I suppose. I knew she'd get me back. I just never imagined this.

I notice everyone who was in teh mess hall is gone. I go back to my room.

I have gotten dressed. Not in nice clothes, just my ordinary school uniform. She may have forced me to accept this date, but she can't force me to enjoy it. Genlkai came in a second ago and told me what to expect. Now, thankfully, she's gone.

I step downstairs, all of those winding stairs,which was where she told me he'd be waiting for me. I feel very apprehensive. I hate my life.

He shows up. Oddly, he's carrying a katana with him.

"Hi Hiei."

"Hn. Shall we go to the gym?"

"The gym?"

"Where else would we go for a training session? Wasn't that what you asked me for two days ago?"

Wait. What? "What?"

He glances at me. "You asked me to help train your sword skills, right?"

The reality sinks in. I gasp, and he looks at me oddly.

Genkai has totally played me. Not a real date, just a training session. Now my feelings are all really confused. Am I mad for her only playing a joke, cruel it may be, or am I mad for some other reason? "Er…yeah. That's right."

He eyes me. "Hn. Glad you remember. To the gym."

I feel so stupid. Why didn't I see it? Where can you go for a date when there is demon fog outside?

We enter the gym after walking down all of the long spiral staircases, and he unsheathes his blade once we are in the middle of the floor. Then he tosses one lying on the ground to me.

The gym looks surprisingly similar to Genkai's room.

"Okay." He looks a little uncomfortable. He looks as new at teaching as I am at the ancient art of sword-fighting.

"Well then." He looks at me. I look back. Then we both start to smile. "Okay, I'm a wreck," begins Hiei."I have never done this, or wanted to do it. How about you?"

"I don't know a damn about blades."

He takes a deep, shaky breath. "Heheh. Okay, well, you hold it like this." The midget strides over to me and grabs my fingers. He turns very slightly red. I can feel myself color as well.He's obviously not used to being around girls, just like me and guys. He arranges my hand around the sword similarly to the way a child would hold a baseball bat.

Then we spar, only we both use harmless wooden swords. Had he been using a real sword, I would have been dead many times over. He hits viciously and quickly, whereas I look and feel like I'm holding a club.

Finally, I drop to the ground, panting, having just got a sharp nick on the head. My sword falls from my hand. He still stands. "Hn. Very good."

I say gloomily, "As compared to what? A chipmunk? And will you sto pwith the whole Hn thing?"

"For a beginner."

I look at him. He smiles. "Okay, it was awful, but you'll get better."

Yeah right. "How'd you learn to fight like that? You're a modern samurai!"

"I had to live somehow. No parents, you know. I had to protect myself."

Wow. "Were you an orphan?"

"Close enough." His eyes cloud over. "Abandoned." (This is the part where the readers gasp, so gasp! GASP!)

"What? Why?"

"Picture this. When a fire demon is born to a village of ice demons, they usually don't care for you much."

"That's what happened to you?"

"Yep. That's why Yukina is my younger sister, yet an ice demon. My parents wanted me, at least that's what she says. All of this story I got from Yukina. But the marei, the leader, wanted me tossed. The village was in the sky, high above. You can imagine what it felt like to be pushed off the edge and fall down to Earth. The impact nearly killed me. I think what saved me was this pendant that the marei gave me before she shoved me off." He takes a chain out from under his shirt. The charm sparkles with the power and color of the ocean inside.

When I try to touch it, he hastily puts it back in his little black cape thing. "After I survived, I lived on my own. I learned not to trust anyone, and I hated Earth's inhabitants, from the bacterium to the ningen."

"Then why are you trusting Koenma, or Yusuke, or me?"

Hiei's silent for a long while. "Because Yusuke defeated me in a match."

"He did? That scrawny punk?"

"Don't rub it in. It inspired me to grow stronger, so I entered the Dark Tournament with the whole bunch. I carried them all the way through." He smiles cockily. "Then...I didn't hate everyone. I finally realized what a child I'd been for all of my 16 years. I especially was drawn to people like me." He gazes at me meaningfully. "Well, here, I'll show you how to improve your technique."

The entire night is then devoted to my development. In fact, by the end of the period, I must say, I'm getting kind of good. Still st no means, Hiei level, butI have improved. I can now block andperform basic attacks.Hiei agrees. He starts me on harder stuff.

Later..."You can go now. We can do this another time, if you like."

"NO. I WILL MASTER THIS SUCCESSION TECHNIQUE!" I find that I am yelling. This move is complicated. You leap into the air and release a barrage of strikes on your target, in my case, Hiei. All I have managed to do so far is give Hiei a good whack on the head, and that didn't hurt him much.

"Another time," he says firmly. "Go to bed."

If I'm honest with myself, I do want to go to bed, even though I hate having someone so much smaller than me have more power. So I run out the gym door. With my eyes almost shut from exhaustion, I don't notice Lahri until it's too late.

I help her stand up. "You okay?" I say coldly. I have not gotten over my annoyance of her.

"Yes." She puts her hand behind her back hastily.

"What do you have there, HONEY?"

"Wha-NOTHING."

I'm through with her games. Tiredness isn't improving my mood. I grab both her hands roughly with one of mine and rip out the object. It's a little glass vial, with some kind of pill rattling around inside.

"Now what's this, _my dear?_"

"Umm…my medicine."

"A Farina drug, now? You wouldn't have found this in Genkai's dresser, now, would you?"

She stares at me in horror. All of a sudden, I feel a surge of hatred for this girl. Totally unexplained. I pin her to the wall by grabbing the front of her shirt, and she writhes under my grasp. "If you ever, ever, ever, sneak into her room again, I will personally feed you to the sharks…piece…by…worthless…piece. Got it?"

She nods her head quickly. I drop her on the ground. Then, of all my luck, Kurama comes in. "Kat, what are you doing to this girl?"

"Asking her where she got her _medicine_ from."

"Medicine? What medicine?"

"A Farina compound." I hold up the bottle to demonstrate. Now I know whereGenkai's pills went. Lahri had been in her room that same day.

I see Kurama putting two and two together, as only he can. I think he also knows she's been in there. He sits down with her. "Lahri, why did you have Genkai's Spirit chemical?"

I get the impression that she is doing some fast thinking. "Well, Mie said that she needed it brought to her, so I decided to."

"How did you know where to look?"

"She told me."

"Ahhh, okay." At least he isn't being fooled either. "Well, I'll take it back to her room. And go to bed…everyone else is."

He turns his back, and she gives him a most unflattering look when his back is turned. I receive the same treatment, and she walks back to her room.

Instead of going to my own room, I walk to the gardens to sleep. No one will mind. Man, I so need to relax after what just happened.

_Back in the gym:_

Genkai walks in. She sees Hiei sitting, stroking his sword.

"Why are you so happy?"

"I dunno if I am. Why?"

"Did you have fun?"

"Get outta my face."

She laughs softly. "Did you?"

"I dunno if I was a good teacher."

"I think she got a pretty good lesson, though."

Very quietly, Hiei walks out the door, leaving behind a smiling Genkai.

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I wake up in my bed. Someone must have moved me from the gardens, but I really don't care who. I'm just so exhausted from getting so beat up last night.

Ugh. Training again today. Oh well. Genkai will get hers today.

As I am thinking, I hear someone come in. It's Hiei. He freezes when he's sees I'm awake.

"What?"

Silence.

"What?" I ask, a little more forcefully this time.

"The first thing is that aparently, Lahri told the truth about Mie wanting the Farina drug."

"Wow. Now go away."

"I just came in because you're wanted in the gardens. By Lahri. Kurama and Genkai will be there too."

I groan. "Okay."

He walks out, and I pull the covers up again.

A/N Thanks to all my loving reviewers, keep it up!


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or the real person Katrina Kon.

**Chapter 34:**

Only I can't fall asleep again.

I hate my sleep-clock. It is currently glowing 6:35 and I can't go to sleep.

I grumble, climb out of bed, and realize I don't need to dress because I fell asleep in my clothes. For some reason, this gets me even angrier, and I really mean I have no reason. Why does Lahri want me out here at this time of morning? I walk out to gardens, tripping on everything from the stairs to tiles decorating the floor, and finally make it in by falling flat on my face. I automatically feel the rush of clean, pure air, as I stand, and also see Genkai and Kurama standing with Lahri. This must be something important. I move faster toward the target.

"Glad to see you finally woke up," Says Genkai, nodding her head in my general direction. Then she turns to the little girl. "What was this you wanted to tell us, Lahri?"

"Well, Kurama, Genkai, Katrina, I just wanted to apologize for my recent actions."

I look up to stare at her, along with two other pairs of eyes.

"I stole Katrina's Commir, because I thought it looked pretty. I invaded Genkai's room, just to test out a potion I heard you guys talking about. I took Kurama's rose, because I thought it looked pretty as well. It was a stupid, mean thing to do to you guys, and I'm sorry."

No one is believing her, from the looks on their faces, and she knows it.

"I'M SORRY!!!!" She wails at the top of her lungs.

Genkai shrugs. "Well, you did apologize. But you're still on probation, Lahri."

She grins widely. "Thanks, Genkai."

Kurama and I are regarding her quietly. Then Kurama pulls Genkai and me away into a corner under the sakura tree to talk.

"I don't know about either of you," he begins, "but I'm not reassured."

"That was too sappy."

"I know."

"She's up to something."

"Well, I don't know about tha---" Genkai's words are cut short by a scream of agony. We all whirl around in unison, and find Lahri on the ground, holding her head as though it might fall off. She's muttering to herself, screaming every now and then. I take a step back. She's lost her mind. Kurama follows suit.

Genkai, on the other hand, kneels down next to her. She starts talking soothingly to her, in a calm, hushed voice. "Quiet there, kid. You're all right, you're all right, calm down."

Lahri is by no means cured of that monster headache or whatever it was, but she starts to lose a little bit of her wide-eyed expression.

I kneel down with her too, and imitate Genkai, talking to her still. Stroking Lahri's lank curls carefully, I can feel Genkai reaching into her with her power. Then Genkai freezes. Just like that. She whispers something inaudibly. Lahri reaches for a nearby rock slowly, as Genkai continues to whisper something. I don't think much of it. I mean, something snapped inside, that's for sure.

I didn't expect it. No one did. For Lahri, without warning,brings the rock crashing down on Genkai's skull.

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"Yukina, will she survive?"

"GUYS, GO AWAY! I'LL TELL YOU ALL LATER!"

"Just tell me," I beg pitifully.

"Yes, she will," Yukina answers curtly. "No brain damage, no bruising, no anything, except if you count being out cold for several days. She's fine," she adds irritably for the fifty-billionth time.

"Well, take care of her." I have to know that she will be taken care of. It's my fault. Lahri was mentally disturbed, wouldn't she have been capable of something like this? I could have prevented it, I just know it. And what was Genkai whispering for? What did it all mean? I can't tell, even though I know I know that I know. I just can't figure it out.

And why is everyone getting attacked? I notice that none of the boys are getting attacked, only the girls. Why? Did they have some sort of significance? First Mie, then Botan, and then Genkai. Who would be next? There was still Yukina, Keiko, and I. Would we be the next targets?

The only good side to this is that I will be missing lessons…Wait. Lessons. What if…No. No way.

But maybe…

I run up eagerly to see Koenma. Maybe he can confirm my suspicions. I fling open the door with a crash, and tear up to his desk. A soft snore issues from his sleeping body. DARN it!

An odd blue creature rushes up to me. "Careful, he's sleeping."

"I know that," I reply, annoyed. "Who the hell are you?"

"His manservant. You can call me Mr. Under Appreciated."

Me: O.o

He rolls his eyes. "All right. My real name is Ogre, but I am under appreciated."

So not my problem. "Do you know when he'll wake up again?"

"No. And by royal rule…" He conjures a large scroll and begins reading, ' "The servants shall not bother or wake Lord Enma or his child. Such can and will result in sudden death." '

"Really?"

"Depends on what mood he's in when he wakes up. Now, miss, what do you want?"

"Just to talk about a case. Don't bother leaving a message."

"All right. Off you go." He shoos me out quickly and shuts the door quickly. I am almost down the entire staircase, when I hear someone shouting. I can hear all the way down here.

"YOU LET HER GO!? HONESTLY, I NEEDED TO TALK TO HER!"

"B-but you were ASLEEP! I couldn't wake you! By the law!"

Koenma pauses. "Looks like we need a rule change," he mutters sullenly. Then I hear a pattering of tiny feet behind me. I turn around.

"Did you want me?" He asks impatiently, fighting to get around me.

"Did _you_ want _me?_"

We stare at each other, and shrug. Koenma begins. "No, I didn't want you, Katrina. I wanted to question little Botan about state facts. Ogre let her walk right out - he _knew_ I needed to talk to her, too..."

Oh. So THAT was it. Oh well. "What I wanted to talk to you was---" He cuts me off.

"Another time, all right? I need to fly!" As if to drive the point home, he soars out of the stairwell.

DAMN! LOST HIM AGAIN!

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I'm in my room again. I'm talking with Mie and Keiko about a lot of stuff. But my heart isn't in it. I have my mind on so much other stuff already that I'm finding it hard to concentrate on the conversation.

"HEY! Earth to Kat!"

"Wha…what?"

"Pay attention! I wanted to ask you something. Why did Lahri do that to Botan? I mean, Genkai? You were there, right?"

"Funny you should mention Botan," I begin hastily, eager to change the subject. "She and Ko---"

"Oh, don't even try it. What happened?"

"Lahri picks up rock. Lahri angry. Lahri hits Genkai. Genkai go bye-bye." I say blandly.

"Oh my god, c'mon!"

"There's nothing to tell," I say, starting to get a little irritated. "Exactly what I said before. I don't know why she hit Genkai, okay? She was having some sort of seizure, probably thought Genkai was evil or something, and so she hit her. That's all."

Keiko and Mie look gravely disappointed. So they start to talk to each other, to punish me. I'm actually glad. I turn on the TV, to an anime. Mie doesn't even protest.

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Author's Note: Review! And the next chapter is going to be interesting, so wait for it!


	35. Chapter 35

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or the real person Katrina Kon. And this has a...moment. Tell me how you liked it. If you didn't like it, I might become totally mortified and delete it. Be honest, I have no confidence in this...

**Chapter 35: Mixed Emotion**

I reflect on everything that's happened lately, because it's getting kind of lonely, and smelly, in this garbage can. Perhaps thinking will take my mind of this goulash. That is sitting on my red skirt.

It's now been 4 whole days since Koenma told me he had to talk to Botan about what he called state affairs, and I've thought of little else than the secret of Lahri. But at least today, I will get my questions out of her whether she wants to or not. The Deceit Device or whatever, that Koenma ordered so many weeks ago, has finally arrived. Lahri won't escape this time!

Much as I hate to admit it, I'm almost missing my lessons with Genkai. Aside from those, I did absolutely nothing here. Now, that has finally been realized. There's nothing to do outside, because of that sinister fog, and inside, all Keiko and Mie want to do is talk to each other and me. I mean, I like friends who interact with me as much as the next guy, but still, it can get a little tiresome. Keiko has gotten interested in Japanese politics, of all things, and won't shut up about which candidate would be better suited to run Japan. Once I said to her face the guy that runs Japan can frickin' get assassinated over a slow fire, and she looked at me with hurt pride and didn't speak to me for the rest of the day. I don't know why. I mean, I didn't insult her, I only told her the truth!

And with Mie, well, she keeps apologizing for making me believe she was a Lesbian. It's as though she's afraid I've gotten ahold of a gun or something. And when she isn't apologizing, she's badgering me over Lahri. No matter how many times I say she's as shrouded to me as she is to her, she still isn't satisfied. She's sure I'm not telling her something, and she always asks 'I thought we were friends!' And when I asked her why she had Lahri get a Farina drug compound, she only says that Lahri got the wrong drug. I can't get anything else out of her.

So-o, this is why I am currently in the garbage can. I'm avoiding them all, but especially Mie. I always know she comes this way at around this time, so I am wisely staying hidden. I need two new best friends. One who isn't political and the other who respects the fact that I don't know everything about this case.

The strange thing is, Hiei and my brother actually fit those. Hiei is really calm and collected, while Kurama is brainy and is more focused on the events on hand rather than Jap emperors. Mie and Keiko are just…well, I've been around them, in the same room, for a long time. I am starting to think of them more as sisters than friends. Just a blah feeling. I know them, but I don't. And what's worst of all is that I can't tell them. They'd be majorly hurt.

A banana peel oozes its juices along my face, then running down to stain my orange shirt. This is disgusting. I'm getting out. Mie is obviously not coming. I stand up and stretch, then I peel trash from my body and clothes. Then, guess what happens. I watch, still sitting in the trash, as Mie walks around, along with Hiei. He sees me right away, and his eyebrows disappear into his little white headband, but he makes no motion, no gesture, to show that I am there.

Mie is too far the other way. She is gazing intently at Hiei, her brown eyes glowing with admiration. I notice she keeps reaching for his hand, but he smoothly pulls it away, either to scratch his arm, or to smooth his hair. It's such a funny cycle I almost laugh. Mie in love…who'd've thought?

Another thing is that she still doesn't seem to see me. Mie is talking way too fast and he only has to nod every couple of minutes. She's watching Hiei too hard, as though trying to memorize every freckle. Then Hiei cuts in. "Mie, I have to go to the tower now."

"I'll come with you!"

"A meeting of representatives of Koenma, okay?"

Mie shakes her head and sticks out her lower lip. "Awww…"

"I have to go," he repeats. He walks up the stairs, perhaps a little on the fast side.

I wait for my school-friend to leave, with her head still in the clouds,then I go after Hiei. I catch up to him on the way up. I start laughing hard. "Did I just see what I think I saw!"

"What?" he asks. Unfortunately, his slight blush gives him away.

"Don't what me, Lover Boy." I grin. This makes me sound like Flo when she thought my brother was my boyfriend.

"Well," The blush deepens a little more. "She wanted me to go out with her."

"And you said…?" I say, unsure of how I feel about the answer.

"No. You should know that. I just don't date."

"Really? Why? Mie's pretty cute, despite what she says on the matter."

"Nah. I told her I already liked someone, and she didn't take it too well, if you know what I mean. She still continued to follow me, though. Kept reaching for my hand, as you saw. Babbling like a cretin."

I stop dead in my tracks. I start to whisper, and his face comes closer to mine so he can hear. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH! THE TRUTH COMES OUT! HIEI-which girl do you like?"

He looks at me oddly. Then, he looks at me, and grows redder. I am shocked to realize that his face has grown VERY close to mine. He leans forward slightly to fill the gap. And kis-God, I don't even like _writing_ it-kisses me on the lips. The shock travels all through my body. I've never been kissed like that. Never. I kind of twitch, rigid as a board.

I mean, of course my mom and probably my dad kissed me good night while I was very young, but it was always on my cheek or my forehead. Never on the lips! What is Hiei thinking? Why is he kissing me if he already has a girl he likes? Isn't he being a two-timer.

Unless...

Am I that girl?

He finally ends it, I guess because I was starting to get a sunburn from the temperature level on his face. He twitches, not unlike me, and then he stares in horror, mortified at what he's just done. I watch in a kind of slow-mo daze.He uses super speed and vanishes away.

I turn away, still in major shock. And I find Mie watching me. I slowly come to the conclusion that she must have seen that…whole…thing…

I grow red as my brother's hair. From the sappy way she was acting before, I expect her to run away crying, but she actually doesn't. She starts to speak. "He likes you?"

"I don't know anymore." It is the truth.

"Did my eyes deceive me? He _kissed_ you?"

"You don't have to sound so surprised." I hate the accusing way she's looking at me.

"And you didn't tell me? That you guys were going steady?"

_Oh no. Oh-no-oh-no-oh-no. Is this what everyone will think?_ "But we aren't."

She rolls her eyes disbelievingly. "I guess he told you I asked him out?"

"Yes."

"Well, if I had, like, known that you were his girlfriend, then I might not've embarrassed myself like that."

"I'm not his girlfriend," I say through gritted teeth.

"Why'd he kiss ya, then?"

"I guess he likes me. I dunno?"

Her face grows redder than mine, and _not_ from embarrassment. _What'd I say?_ "DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU! YOU GET EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW THAT? YOU TAKE EVERYTHING! YOU RUIN MY LIFE ALL THE TIME!"

"Wah-what?" I'm reminded of the time where I was shouting at Kurama, when I first turned into the panther accidentally. Only then, Kurama was trying to calm me, and I was the one shouting. Was this how ridiculous it sounded to him as well?

"WHAT! WHAT! YOU'RE MORE POWERFUL, SMARTER, PRETTIER, MORE ATHLETIC, YOU TOOK THE GUY I LIKE, YOU'RE DAMN EVERYTHING!"

This really is enough. "Listen to yourself," I say, my temper rising. "You hate me because you think you're inferior. And you know what, I think you are now. You just confirmed it. YOU'RE A GODDAM STUPID BITCH, WHO THINKS SHE SHOULD BE MISTRESS OF THE UNIVERSE! SHUT THE F-(censored) UP!"

Mie just stares at me, unprepared for an equally loud comeback. She just bursts into tears and runs out of the room. I don't care. She's probably running outside again, like she has been for all the time she's been here. Serve Her Royal Ass right. That BITCH!

Mie really has a lot of nerve. She's such a stupid crybaby, who thinks I should give everything I have over to her. Why is she always so jealous?

You know what, I don't need her anymore. Anyone who hates what I have is no friend of mine. Keiko and Botan and the others can easily make up for her.

And when Mie comes crying back to me, as she undoubtedly will, I won't be so forgiving.

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I'm now in the hospital portion of Koenma's palace. I'm just watching Genkai. Every now and then she mutters something in her sleep, but other than that, she's totally unconscious. I hate both Lahri and Mie! I should have always seen Mie for who she really was, and as for Lahri, I should have left her to die as soon as I found out she had stolen my Commir. The two of them must have been best friends in another life.

I'm so glad the nurses made me take a shower before she let me in. I probably wouldn't have on my own and so now I'm all nice and clean. That's also why I'm falling asleep on top of Genkai's still body. I didn't get nearly all the sleep I would have liked.

Finally, I allow my head to drop onto her bedspread. It's seems as though I've been asleep for just one minute when Kurama barges in, and talks to the nurse very quickly. I hear her mutter something like "She's right there" or something. Kurama lets out what seems to be a sigh of relief and runs over to Genkai's bed. There he rouses me very rudely.

"Wake up, Kat. _Wake up."_

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. "WHAT IS IT?"

"Just get up and I'll tell you."

Hm. My bro piqued my curiosity. I stand up, still rubbing the sleepies out of my eyes. "C'mon, what did you want?"

"Have you seen Lahri at all?"

"Hmmm. No. I would have thought you'd-"

"Damn. Then it's true. Kat, Lahri's gone."

A/N Evil cliffy! Read Review! And this was my first time writing romance; but even so, don't get your hopes up for any make-out sessions or lemons. I don't do that. Just ask any of my friends. I am the most un-un-un-romantic person I know. I don't even say the word make-out! I can only write it. And RebelWriter, I hope you're happy that I wrote it! yuck...


	36. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or the real person Katrina Kon.

**Chapter 36:**

"_Gone?_ But how?"

"That's what we all are trying to find out. She didn't show up for her lunch period, so we went to look for her in her room. She wasn't there, and neither were any of her clothes or anything. We think that either she left of her own accord, or that she was taken by someone who wanted it to look like she left of her own accord."

I'm amazed. "How do you do that?"

He shrugs. "I use something called brains. And you know what's even weirder? The fact that today was the day that she was going to under the Deceit Detector. Pretty convenient, how she chose this particular day to run."

"I never liked her," I growl.

"She certainly has been hiding something. It's all too perfect. The day after she learned about Koenma's deceit tools, she accidentally broke them. Then she either runs or is kidnapped on the day of her hearing. So odd."

I notice the look he is giving me. "No, I am not going to find her."

"Why not?"

"Cauze she's a frickin' bitch. She deserves to rot in some rat infested cellar."

"But she is innocent, although secretive."

"You know, I don't know if she is. She steals stuff that would help us later. The Farina drug, your rose, my Commir…I don't trust her. What if she's working for him?"

"No. There's too many holes. We all know Sensu doesn't employ humans, considering they're very weak. And also, if he was trying to draw you in by kidnapping his own employee, why would he have let you escape?"

"I haven't figured that part out yet," I admit. "I just need more time."

"Well, we're out of time."

I nod. Strangely, I am not worried one bit. He does the same and steps out the door. Right before, he winks a green eye. "What did you do to Hiei today?"

"More like what did he do to me. Why?"

He snickers. "Because he goes red if he even hears your _name_."

"You don't wanna know, okay? You don't wanna know."

"Yes I do. Please?"

I glare. His puppy face is maddeningly convincing. "He k---k---kis---yuck---kissed me."

Instead of laughing, he smiles. "No one's been able to make Hiei smile in a long, long time. Feel special. Maybe you can open him up a little."

I smile. That analogy reminds me of a clam I once tried to pry open when I went to the beach with my mother. I tugged and tugged, finally breaking part of its shell. It was then when I fully understood how much clams dislike having their shells broken. I remember it peeking out that tongue like body and looked around, and when it spotted me, it rather lunged. Of course, my chubby legs couldn't outrun this amazing clam, and it leaped up to chomp on my ear. Quite hard. My mom heard me screaming, and came to pry it off, but even she could not pry it off, so we had to cut our visit short to get the doctor.

I had needed a tetanus shot, and the evil clam had to be put to sleep before it could be tugged off. I remember my satisfaction at seeing the needle penetrate it's fragile, evil body; hearing it's last breath… "You…will…pay…"

I had quite a few problems with clams over the years. And I'm comparing Hiei to a clam. I need a life.

My mom and I were very embarrassed, and from then on I stayed away from clams. Maybe that's what I should do with Hiei. Better not risk breaking his shell. He'll turn on me.

So, does this mean Hiei is another clam I'm trying to poke my business into? Maybe I should leave him alone. He might bite my ear cleanlyoff this time.

His expression turns grimmer (I assume I was not paying attention again). "Be on the lookout for any more disappearances, okay, Kat?"

"Uh-huh."

He leaves. I decide to go back to my room. I need to think, and think hard. I don't think I want a relationship, with anyone. I just like to be alone.

Besides, who'd want to spend their lives with a clam?

A horrible vision comes to me. A little black clam...Hiei's head inside it...

I jump involuntarily. Maybe I can talk to Keiko and pointedly ignore Mie…

I finally reach the door to our room, and open it. What I find is not solitude. I find chaos. The furniture is ripped and shredded, there are massive footprints on the floor, which is also shredded, and I won't even mention what happened to the walls.

Perhaps the most disturbing thing of all was the fact that there is a spot of blood on the floor. I also hear a closet start yelling, so I open it and see Keiko tied up in a corner. I loosen her bonds, but it takes her quite a while to calm down. She just keep screaming and jabbering. I don't know why no one else discovered this.

When she can speak, she tells me that Sensu, or what she thought must be Sensu, just made off with Mie not two minutes ago.

"But Keiko, why wouldn't it take you too?"

"I dunno. It just looked back and forth between Mie and I, sort of deciding, and just grabbed Mie, and sank its claws into her side. That's why the blood is there. She started screaming ' "I'm sorry," ' but it still took her out of the window."

"Keiko, Lahri's gone too. There must be a connection."

"If there is, I can't see it. I'm never going to sleep again." She gives an involuntary shudder.

"What did the beast look like?"

"Kind of a ghostly white Tiguro. Abominable Snowman. It looked similar to the thing Mie and I saw attack Botan. But it wasn't the same. This thing actually looked sane, like it knew what it was doing. The other one just looked confused and insane. That's why I think it was Sensu himself."

I look over Keiko one more time, despite her protests that she is fine as can be, and go straight up to Koenma. This has gotten way out of hand.

I fling open the door, and yell in face "DON'T RUN AWAY FROM ME THIS TIME!!!!"

He stares at me. "WHAT IS IT?" he shouts back.

"MIE HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED!"

"REALLY?"

"YEAH!"

"LET'S STOP SCREAMING!"

"OKAY!" We're both hoarse anyway. Not even I know why we are talking so loudly to one another.

"So, what was that you were saying, Katrina?"

"Mie, you know, my friend Mie, has been kidnapped, at least from Keiko's side of events."

"Really? Along with little Lahri? Gee, Mie is not the luckiest girl, is she?"

""_Don't_ joke now! I think there must be some kind of correlation."

"You're certainly a sharp one. A good Spirit Detective."

I shake my head. "I don't want to be come great detective. I want to be," I think for a moment. "A French chef. Yeah!"

He giggles. "You're kidding no one but yourself."

"I know. Anyway, how will we get them back?"

"I don't know. I really don't. I wish we had Genkai for this sort of thing, but she's not due for her waking in another few days."

"Who else can I talk to?"

"Him." He points behind me. Yusuke has entered the room, with Hiei in tow. Hiei is very red and muttering very darkly; avoiding anyone's eyes, particularly mine. But that doesn't matter, since I can't look at him anyway.

"Yusuke? Why Yusuke?"

"Well, he was the only one officially made a Spirit Detective. He's got the skills you do, and he has also never lost a fight with anyone, like you. Except to you. So you two are a perfect match."

I'm pretty sure he didn't mean that the way it sounded, but it still came out really odd. All three of us are glaring at each other. Hiei still won't look at anyone.

Koenma actually blushes. "Sorry. I just meant the two of you working together might work out really well."

Yusuke and I look at each other and start to laugh. "Nah."

"Well," begins Yusuke pompously, "I was just about to show you some fabulous clues I've found." He looks at me; daring me to try to beat him.

"Oh, but Koenma, I wished to talk to you about the fact of Mie's disappearance and how we can prevent it in the future."

He looks back and forth at us, deciding whom to consult first. "Well, Katrina, I'll talk with you first. We do need to prevent more abductions of our best people."

I try not to gloat too hard at the look on Yusuke's face as I lead Koenma out the door.

"We need to check and recheck identities," I say simply.

"Oh, that's all?"

"Yup."

"I should go inside again, then. YUSUKE!"

"Runaway," I whisper. He turns around and glares at me. "What?"

"You're a little run-away." I sing it softly.

Angrily he jumps back into his office, accidentally running into the door headfirst, and thus, smashing into Hiei. I see a very dazed black haired boy come out a moment later, but not too dazed to keep from hitting Koenma over the head on his way out with his sword. Not too dazed to see me standing there.

We give nervous stares. We both mutter a quick 'Hello' to each other and flee in opposite directions. _Is this how it's going to be now? Us avoiding each other for the rest of our lives?_

I realize I have gone the wrong way. Now I am lost, with no navigator because Keiko is still upset over the fact that I insulted her precious political candidates. Now I'll have to find my way out alone.

Oh darn, there's my bro! I try to hide, but…

"There you are! Are you lost?"

"Yeeeeeesssss."

"Well, I can help you get back if you want."

_I don't want to, I really don't want to._

"Yeah, I think I will."

_If I wasn't dead before, I certainly am now._

"You like the idea?"

_No!!!!!!_ "Um, okay, I guess."

"You don't sound convinced."

"Well, but you aren't the best directionally oriented."

"I've been practicing."

_Great. Wonderful. Whatever. Just leave me alone!_ "Kurama, I need to go back to Koenma's so if you'll excuse me…" I slip by him, and leave him with a puzzled expression on his face.

Whew! I'm glad I avoided that dilemma. Now, where can I go? I'm puzzling over this stupidly, until I notice something on the ground.

A/N Review!


	37. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or the real person Katrina Kon.

**Chapter 37: Farina**

It's another of those Farina pills.

How did it get all the way up here?

Wait.

Could this have been the spot where Lahri was abducted? Could she have dropped this?

But why would she have another one?

I finger it accidentally, and it breaks into a very fine dust, which falls from my hand onto the psotless marble floor.

Now goddammit, I have no proof. No one will believe me. I mean, the pill was the only thing that pointed guilt in her direction, and now as that's gone…well, I don't think even Yusuke will take my word on this one. Damn!

But what use does Lahri have for a Farina drug? What would be woth risking capture over?

One thing I have in my favor, however, is that _I_ know who she is. And she will go down if I have anything to say about it.

And then there's Mie.

I don't know, but something says that Mie wouldn't go that far to betray me. She just can't be a spy. Besides, how could she have kept meeting Sensu? No one ever leaves the castle, Koenma made double sure of that. Even though she took several walks outside, Sensu wouldn't have enough guts to get with a mile of Koenma's castle. And when they were attacked by one of Sensu's henchmen, why would Mie have saved Keiko and Botan from almost certain death? I need more information.

I think I've made up my mind. Maybe I will go rescue Lahri and Mie from the clutches of Sensu. I do wish I could have trained more, though. What if it's not enough to beat him? The team makes Tiguro out to be this horrid,ridicluously strong dude, so not even Yusuke and I together might be able to pull it off. Keiko still is a little scared to talk about her little incident and how close she was to being abducted herself. All she says that it looked like a big white Tiguro, and that really doesn't help me much anymore. For instance, I still have no idea about the powers Sensu controls. I can't prepare myself, and it makes me feel very vulnerable.

But, I mean, I am strong, right? I could probably take him down.

Probably.

My brain is trying to kill me.

To my surprise, Genkai walks to my exact spot in the hallway.

"Genkai? How did you heal…" I notice a large bandage on her head.

She waves it aside. "It's nothing. I've had much worse, despite what Yukina says. What are you doing here?"

"I found a piece of evidence, but I won't think it will matter now," I say, indicating the pile of fine dust. "It destroyed itself, I swear!"

"Really? That's very interesting…"

"It is?"

"What was it?"

"A pill of yours. A Farina."

"Strange. I have none of that left. Where could she be getting it from?"

"And what do you think about Mie?"

"Mie. Mie. Oh yeah, her. Not thinking straight. I heard about her. Why do you think she was kidnapped, then?"

"I think it was just a frame-up. She must have allowed herself to be kidnapped on purpose, to escape from here and further help carry out his plans."

"I don't think so, though."

"Why?"

"Mie couldn't have been passing information to Sensu, because every communication is watched outside of the palace."

"I thought about that."

We stand, deep in thought. Then Genkai breaks the silence. "Well, I was thinking about sending you on your journey into the fog again."

"Really?"

"Not today, dimwit. Now that I'm well enough to teach, that's what I shall do. This will be the last lesson. You will go tomorrow."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, isn't this a bit sudden?"

"Not in my book. You go tomorrow, before you lose your nerve."

"Okay." I'm not sure whether I'm happy or not about this arrangement. I follow her to the gym, and we resume our ordinary astro-projection.

Astro-projection.

If my brain is trying to tell me something it could afford to be a little clearer on the facts. What? Did I miss a lesson of astro-projection, or what? What am I trying to remember?

I am also surprised by how hard astro-projection has gotten in my lack of using it for one week. It takes me much longer to release this time. Luckily, I can still move in the altered reality. Genkai now is training me how to fight when I ask "Genkai, what did you see in Lahri, right before she knocked you out?"

"Oh. That. Well, I sensed a powerful presence within her body. It seemed very advanced for such a small girl."

"Wow. Weird."

"Back to the training!"

Dang! I was so close to getting her onto a tangent too!

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A/N Sorry it was really short. I had to edit out a lot of the more pointless bits, so forgive me. Review! And spunkykitty, I do not care if Farina is really an oatmeal!


	38. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or the real person Katrina Kon. I do claim onto the storyline, however. And RoseMaiden, for your comment, this chapter is entirely pointless!

**Chapter 38: Ready?**

_Ready._ I hate that word. How can you ever be ready for anything in this life? You'll never know what will hit you hard; whether this day is your last on Earth, whether you'll ever be home.

Now I know what being a soldier feels like. But at least real soldiers didn't have to fight demons in a mess of evil fog.

How lucky Earth soldiers are.

I'm not ready to go. No matter how much they think I am, I'm not. And never will be. And yet, I say I am. And it's true I've been training like mad, I'm all suited up, with a supply of food, ready to do battle with a someone I can't beat. Yet, I'm going. Still going. Not letting anyone know that I'm not ready…urgh...

I'm having a mind war.

It's not too late to turn back. I can still escape. Let someone else handle it.

But I can't…

I am vaguely aware of the huge forbidding reddoor to outside opening. I'm in a daze. I can't handle it. Why am I so down today? It isn't right, it isn't me. So why is it happening? Why do I pretend that I'm ready?

I'm going crazy. In counting…2 seconds…system…failure…will take place…

No.

I'm being stupid. I can't feel sorry for myself; it just won't work. I have a job to do. At least one life other than my own hangs in the balance. I just wish they would have given me more notice. It's been only a week since Genkai awoke, and one of the first complete, understandablesentences out of her mouth were how I'm going. No one even asked me how I felt!

I guess the thing that is eating me alive inside is the fact that no one will be coming with me. Since the "Fog Forest" is so big, we have split up. The order that it goes is that Kurama and Hiei will form one team. Genkai and Botan will form another, Yusuke and Kuwabara as the latter. They said we will eventually meet up at the palace of Sensu, and we'll figure out what to do next from there. No one has actually seen the castle besides me. Why am I the only one going alone? Because I told them I was ready. Goddamnit, _why_ am I such a doormat?

The other two groups follow me out. Kurama actually hugs me goodbye in a brotherly fashion, Botan waves, Genkai nods grimly, and Hiei ignores. Well, at least he's stopped blushing. He can finally stand to be around me without completely radiating like the sun. Like I said, the ordinary drill.

And then… with three small steps…I hear the door shut behind me. The rest of the team waves again, and then, still in respective groups of two, the split off, and fade quickly from sight.

Well, I'm alone. What else is there but frozen me?Alone in this mess of putrid air. This is my true test. Rescuing "Lahri-Brat" was not my test. This is. I can't explain it, but this brings a more terrified feeling to freeze my innards than the last time. I just feel sick. That's all. Something just doesn't feel right. Sort of like those dementors in Harry Potter, the evil soulless things that suck out good feeling, and if they're extra hungry or in a particularly crabby mood, your soul as well.

And what's worse is that I can't shake this feeling of eternal gloom. I can usually tease myself to bring up my morale considerably, but not this time. And don't think I haven't tried. Nothing is working. I'm a slave to my own fear, and even I don't get why.

And always will be afraid, the way I'm going. I will die of fear soon. I'll leave a will, 'Put Keiko as my High Chancellor…' I grin in spite of my feelings. Maybe it won't be so bad out here.

I start my march into the fog, my momentary happiness fading, dreading every step of the way. I will die here. Will never have seen my home again…

There's something wrong. I've never felt this way before. _Something is causing this feeling so I will be easy prey._

I can sense it. Something here. With me. Waiting. Watching. Pain. Death.

A wave of sleepiness hit me. I flop on the ground.

Something leaps out of the ground. In my dulled emotion, I have no time to react. It resembles a kind of huge grey pointed caterpillar, and riding it is a fire-orange human-shapeddemon. The steed releases a huge stinger from its abdomen. The creature riding it prepares to strike with a ball of murky green energy that it holds in its palm. I can do nothing. Nothing. Nothing…nothing…

Time seems to freeze. I watch, in slo-mo, as the worm or whatever it is brings down its stinger to suck the juice out of me. I'm gone.

Think...

Right. Kuwabara conjured a spirit sword to save himself, even though he had never done it before, so why not me?

Maybe…

Maybe…

I don't know what happens next. Whatever it is, it's so fast I can't keep track of it. I see blue, and am positive that I have entered a lovely heaven or sapphires, but no. I hear the thud of the stinger on raw power, that dull ringing sound. The creature cannot penetrate this energy force field that I have just conjured. I now recognize the creature as a Parasi, a parasitic creature that drains all happy emotions. No wonder I couldn't pull myself out of despair! I feel a twinge of rage. It nearly killed me with that horrible power! And with the shield protecting me, I can feel those emotions once again. There comes a burst of confidence with the anger, unbreakable. Without knowing how I do it, I extend this light shield by spreading my arms, and everything in its path is destroyed, including the Parasi and its rider. It emits one final shriek, as does its master, and both fade from sight after they die. My shield fades from sight as well soon after it is summoned, but it did its job. It pushed away the fog a few hundred meters, so I can see very clearly. But the best part is that my mind is clear, and I know I can do this. I trained enough with the great hag for a reason, so I can and will do this. I didn't come here to get killed.

How did I _do_ that? And more importantly, how canI do it again? Why did it fade? How do I get it back?

I think I'll call that technique _the bubble power._ Huh. Fits nicely.

The fog is starting to regain it's natural form around my body, so I start to run along the marshy ground in order to claim as much distance as possible before the fog swallows me again. Maybe all those laps Genkai made me run in the first, physical part of my training helped after all. I am making good distance, though a little of Hiei's speed wouldn't hurt. I have covered quite a few meters by the time the fog has made its comeback.

Then, it's just mostly slow walking. Dodedodedo. Nothing is happening. Shouldn't I have met something by now? It's almost as if I'm being drawn into a false sense of security. Very strange. Does Sensu want me to come unscathed? But that still wouldn't explain the monster caterpillar…

I walk quicker, my imagination getting quite a nice grip on my brain. For loneliness, I start to sing an old song about soldiers going to battle, and it ends with the singer dying. While far from happy, I now know what I'm here to do. And do it I will.

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A/N This was mostly a DiscoverYourself-Poetry-ReadingRainbow thingy chapter, but still, there's a lot more to come. Keep reviewing! Thank you everyone for being so kind! (Cries) Anyway, next chapter is where she meets Jin. Let's see how perky and unhappy get on together, shall we?


	39. Chapter 39

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or the characters of which, nor do I own the real person Katrina Kon. This Katrina is a fictional character, and I only claim onto the storyline. Are you happy now?

**Chapter 39: My Ears Are Pointing Up**

MY GOD! Now the fog is getting in my eyes, and it won't-come-out…GODDAMMIT!

My eyes are now starting to tear. This fog is a major irritant to my eyes. Maybe I'm allergic. I can just imagine it all over the news 'GIRL KILLED BY MYSTERIOUS ICKY POISONOUS ODD SPIRITUAL GREEN FOG!'

I can't concentrate anymore. I sit down on the ground hopelessly, still scrubbing at my eyes. Why didn't this happen before? Is it only now because of my fear? Or is it something else?

I stop rubbing, and lay down in the ground. _Just shoot me, anybody is welcome to._

I stew in my rage and frustration.

I stare.

…

…

…

Oh man. This had better be a hallucination. A little red-haired elf has flown in front of me, and hovers over top of me. It looks so stupid I decide not to give it the privilege of my speech. It's probably a spy, anyway. He drifts in and out of focus, because my eyes have given up just like me.

"Hello." It speaks with an Irish accent. Strange. Someone I knew talked like that…

"H-h-hiiiii."

"Something wrong? Your ears are pointing down."

_Now what the hell does that have to do with anything?_

"My ears are pointing up, so that means I'm content. Yours are very, very down."

_Who is this guy and what does he want? My sanity, maybe?_

"You there?"

"Yeeeeeeessssssssssssssssssss."

"A little cranky, I see. What be your name?"

Grrrrrrrrrrr. "Kat."

"Well, Kat, don't you want to sit up? I can mend the eyes."

Now that is an offer I can't refuse at this point, no matter how much I don't trust him. I sit up quickly. He waves his hands in front of my face, which by the way are glowing reddish like his hair, and suddenly, I can see fine.

"Wow."

"Why is a youngling like you here?"

"I'm not young," I answer crossly. "I work for…" I wonder how much I dare say. Oh well. "Koenma."

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Katrina."

"You know me? Am I like, a celeb today?"

"Mie's told me all about you."

"You know who Mie is too?"

A sad look crosses that pointed face. "Alas, I should say so."

I don't pursue the subject. "Well then, first off, thanks. And second, who's side are you on?"

He looks puzzled.

"Do-you-work-for-Sensu-or-Koenma?" I ask, slowly and clearly.

"Ohhhh. I am Koenma's spy, yes I am."

But I have no proof, dammit! "What's your name?"

"Jin. Jin of the wind."

Not kidding. He's a total lunatic! Wait, wind demon… "How do you know Mie?"

"Mie. My little Mie. Precious thing."

"Are you, like, her dad?"

"No, no," He laughs freakishly. "Her cousin."

"Wow. She never told me about you. How come I've never seen you before?"

"I only came to help the war effort when I found out Sensu took her. As a member of the Shin obi, I have other matters to attend to."

I don't ask. "Well, thanks then. I'll be going now."

"Where to?"

"Sensu's place of living." I would ask him for directions, but I don't want to accompany this oddity more than I have to.

"I can show you where to go, yes I can." Crap! Scratch that idea!

"NO NEED AT ALL."

"But you need someone to protect you!"

_You are an imbecile_ is on the tip of my tongue, but I bite it back. "All right." Now why oh why did I say that?

He grins, reminding me of Botan's perkiness. They'd be excellent together. "Then let's be off!" He grabs my hand, ignoring my cries of protest, and flies me through the fog. "Ground is not safe, Katrina. If someone were to get in the ground too deep, their ears would be pointing down, very down."

_My god! Does this guy ever shut up about the ears?_

I must admit, flying feels good, though. The only time I ever rode in a plane was to get here in the first place, and I loved it despite my puking periods. Also, the fog is exponentially thinner up here. Flying like this would be almost perfect if I could only hear myself think. Jin obviously doesn't talk to anyone often. And I'm really starting to see why.

"-and also, Katrina, once my little cousin ate too many bran muffins, and so one day, she hurled-"

"JIN!" I say quickly. "Let's enjoy the…er…beautiful scenery, okay?" He grins in response and says okay. Only he would be so dense as to fall for that one. There's frickin' nothing to see but poison!

We fly on for some time, when Jin asks, "Permission to speak and break the beautiful scenery?"

I sigh. "Go on."

"I'm hungry."

I grit my teeth in frustration. "You're _hungry._"

"Sure am. May I eat something?"

I groan, and reach into my pack and pull out a watercress sandwich because I hate it. "Here."

With one hand, he opens it and looks at the contents. Then he smiles in delight. "Watercress?"

"Uh…um…uh…yes?"

"I LOVE watercress! You are too kind!"

"Don't…mention…it…" Have I ever, ever, ever been this annoyed?

"Thank you so very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very-"

"OKAY! YOU'RE WELCOME ALREADY!"

He winks. If he asks me to marry him, he'll never know what hit him. I'm this close to doing it as it is.

He chews noisily, still watching me intently. Stay away from me!

"Permission to speak? Again?"

"Yeah?"

"What kinds of sandwiches do you like?"

"All kinds. NO more talking please, Jin."

He sighs disappointedly, and we go back to flying. Why is this taking so long?

"Jin, how long have we been flying?"

"About 5 minutes."

"That's it? How fast are we going?"

"UUUH, I'd hafta say around 35 m.p.h."

"That's not fast at all!"

"I can't go faster!"

"Why not?"

"I fly using my own Spirit Energy. Going any faster, I wouldn't have enough power to get us both there safely, Better to dole it out a little bit at a time."

"How much longer?"

"I dunno, an hour maybe."

"AN HOUR? IT WOULD TAKE ME LESS THAN HALF THAT TIME ON FOOT!"

"Well, you had wandered far off course before I met up with you."

Oh no. This has got to be a dream. This isn't happening now. I can't be stuck in the fog with this partially insane wind demon. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo….

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A/N Jin was always one of my favorites in the Yu Yu Hakusho world, just for his personality. I like the way his and Katrina's personalities clash so. Tell me if you agree in reviews! And I hate watercress too. And I keep forgetting to thank reviewers. People like nameless, my friends, and stealthassassin, thank you all very much!


	40. Chapter 40

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or characters, Katrina is a fictional character only. I do claim onto the storyline, however.

**Chapter 40: ListenTo The Sound Of My Screaming**

**Katrina's And Jin's POV's:**

Jabberjabber. Jabberjabberjabber. Jabberjabberjabberjabberjabberjabber….

**"JIN, SHUT UP!"**

He stares at me concernedly. "Why?"

The nerve! "Why? WHY?You have done nothing but yap about nothing!"

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I never noticed."

I refuse to talk to him for while. I've always had little patience for fools, and he qualifies as a fool. I start to feel guilty because of the look in his face. "Look, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything. It's just that I am getting kind of tired of you just talking so much, okay? No offense, it's nothing personal."

"Okay, I'll try to be quieter. For you."

_Oh god. What is that supposed to mean? And why is he looking at me like that?_

"Um, thanks, I think."

"Are we friends then?"

"Sure." Was that me?

"GOOD!" He hugs me in midair. If any of my friends are somehow seeing this, I'm gonna die. It wasn't that smart to hug me, though. We suddenly majorly drop in altitude. This is uncomfortable, as he's still hugging me for some reason.

"JIN! DAMMIT, WE'RE GONNA CRASH!"

He comes to, and pulls himself and me up again. That was close. "What are you thinking?"

He looks at me. "Nothing." He's staring at me, all of me.

I withdraw without realizing it. "Are we almost there?" I whisper. If I live to get on the ground again, I'm never talking to this weirdo again. He's looking at me strangely! I hate it when teens – or demons that look like teens – do that!

"Yes. We should be there in the better part of 15-20 minutes."

For a while, no one speaks. Then he asks, "Are you going out with Hiei?"

"That's kind of a personal question, right?" I answer coldly.

"I just asked."

"No. He gave me one lesson on how to use a katana sword, but that for the most part was really it. Nothing like a date or whatever." If he thinks that I'll tell him about our last encounter, he's crazy.

"Okay, good."

"You-know-what," I begin with his perky attitude. "I'd like to walk now, you know. Stretch my little legs!"

"No, I'd like to fly. Flying will get us there faster!"

"NO. I'd like to walk."

"Fly."

"Walk."

"Fly."

"Walk."

"Can we please fly?"

I sigh, defeated. My soft spot will kill me one day. "All right."

"Good."

(Later)

"Well, we're here, Katrina."

"Finally," I mutter, so that he can't hear me. "Thanks for the ride, Jin. I'll find my way up from here."

"I'll be coming with you, though! You're a human! I will fit in better. Here are some clothes of mine."

"No, I brought my own. Thanks anyway, Jin." I reach into my pack to prove it, and pull out a filthy, bloodstained robe. "See?"

"Okay. Go into the fog and put it on. I'll put mine on over there."

"Okay. Meet right here."

"Got it."

I pull up the robe over my old school uniform, and meet right back where I said I would. Jin takes a surprisingly long time to change, for a guy demon anyway. Before he comes back, I check my reflection in my Commir. I look demon-like, with my hood casting my identity into shadow.

He comes up eventually, and beckons me over. We go into the demonic city, and slouch our way up to Sensu's office.

"Kat, Kurama told me what they would be wearing. We should look for people in…" He pulls out a piece of paper. "In bluish gray tunics, all with ax symbols on the front. Like our uniforms."

I check my tunic. It does have a bloody ax dripping on the front on the bluish fabric. Also, so does Jin's.

I search for them, as does Jin, (is he mimicking me or something?). After about 20 minutes, I still see no ax design. Where could they be?

As I'm searching, a small demon runs up to us. It bears the sign of Sensu, the great white beast,a violent slaughter scene of Sensu standing over many dead demons. Only Sensu would think of that. Despite all of the blood and gore, you really do get the point as soon as you lay eyes upon it. I notice that Sensu also has triangular glasses that really don't suit him at all.

"Demons, hooded demons! Your presence is required at the Square!"

"The what?" I hiss, but Jin covers my mouth rudely.

He grunts, "Yeah. Got it." Wow, he can mask that accent very well.

He doesn't seem to realize that even in demon clothes, I need to breathe. His first tip-off is the way I'm starting to twitch funny, and am turning blue. He mutters, "Sorry," and lets me go.

"Huff huff huff huff, What are you thinking, Jin?"

"I SAID sorry!" He replies indignantly.

"Let's just go to that tower already, Jin!"

"We can't! We have to be at the square, Katrina! Most likely Sensu will be there too."

I grumble. Where are Kurama and everyone else? If anything, I would have thought they'd be there before me, at the speed Jin was going. I hope they come soon, because I'm starting to get a little worried, unlike Jin.

**Hiei's and Kurama's POV's:**

"Hiei, there's too many of them!" Yells Kurama.

"You're not trying!" Hiei yelled back, intensely frusturated. The worms were everywhere, all around them.

"Why are we fighting them? Why not just running?" Kurama yells convincingly. He had a wounded arm."These are only meant as a diversion for something! We have to get past!"

Hiei hated the idea of running, but maybe Kurama had a point. So Hiei grabbed onto him and sped themselves ahead.

**Genkai's and Botan's POV's:**

"Help me, Genkai!"

Genkai sped forward, having just killed yet another Parasi. A Parasi she hadn't yet fought was about to sink its teeth into Botan. Genkai gave it a swift chop, and the beast faded from sight, dropping Botan from its pincers. She fell lightly.

"That was a real workout," said Botan cheerily. "You were excellent!"

"It's not over yet. Oh dammit, RUN!" Genkai shoved Botan, pushing her away with Spirit Energy. The last Parasi, the only one left, cuffed Genkai cruelly, wounding her enough to put her out of commission for a few minutes. Genkai would die there. She watched it release the stinger and bring it crashing down…

**Yusuke's and Kuwabara's POV's:**

"Got any ideas now, smart one?" Yelled Yusuke to Kuwabara.

"Lemme think, all right? Ten worms against two men, well, things look pretty grim."

"DAMMIT, I KNOW THAT! WHAT CAN WE DO TO INCREASE OUR ODDS?"

"Hope for a miracle. I don't have any spirit energy left, we know that we can't beat them with our fists..."

Yusuke suddenly realized what was happening. "WE CAN DO THIS, DUDE! FIGHT THE ANGUISH THEY HAVE OVER YOU ALREADY! YOU'RE THE ONE WITH THE SUPER SIXTH SENSE, YOU BAKA!"

"I'm trying! I keep tripping over this stupid robe thing!"

The worms lunged.

**Katrina's and Jin's POV's:**

"For the last time, Katrina, I'm sure they're fine!" (A/N Couldn't be more wrong..)

"Well, but I can't help thinking that they might be in real danger. I mean, suppose the worms got them and not us because we were airborne?"

"They're fine."

"I dunno."

"Cheer up. At least we got here safely."

I decide not to say any more because I can tell my worries annoy Jin greatly. I guess he's too happy to even think of unhappy things.

"Katrina, we're at this pep rally thing now."

"Oh. So this is it?"

"Yes. I wonder what it's about…"

At least 500 or more demons line the streets. Ironically, Sensu is not present. There is only a huge movie screen of him. However, from the way he is looking at everyone, I can feel sure that he sees this as clearly as any of us. The screen starts to speak.

"Welcome, demons of all types! This is the day that all have waited for, so I won't waste time explaining what it is this year. Just simple fights, weapons of any kind, are allowed. So, begin!"

"What the hell…" What the hell is he talking about? It doesn't make sense. Something about fighting between his own subjects? Is he crazy, or is he crazy?

A tough looking red demon and a smaller blue companion jump up on the platform. "Anyone wanna try me out?" Boasts the red one.

"Jin we have gotta get out of here! We have bigger things planned! Jin, where are you going?" For he has grabbed my hand and pulled me up with him onto that large platform. "We will."

"We will? JIN!" I disapprove of fighting for no reason. And this definitely qualifies as no reason. What if we come off worse in the fight? What if my hood is flipped off? If they find out that I'm a human, I know enough of the rules here that I won't be welcome.

The red demon smirks, and put it this way, I don't back down from cocky foes. From the way Jin is tensing himself, I guess he doesn't do so either. Jin flips off his entire robe, and I see him in full for the first time. (Remember, last time he didn't have it on, my eyes were bad?)Two small white horns poke out of that spiky tomato-red hair that frames a blue-eyed face. I notice a little fang at the edge of his wide mouth. As if to show off, he flies into the air like some kind of rocket. He smirks down at them, but ironically, they don't look at all scared.

Just who are these people?

JIN, YOU IMBECILE!

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A/N R and R!


	41. Chapter 41

_Hey guys, sorry it's late! Got way ahead of myself there..._

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH, and all of the invented characters are fictional, such as Katrina, Kanerusa, Mie, etc.

**Chapter 41: A Pointless Fight**

"Jin, why are we going to fight?" I yell to him to let him hear me from up there.

"Sorry. We Shinobi do enjoy a good brawl here and there."

"You never told me. What's a Shinobi?"

"What is it?" He asks, sounding appalled. "The best force in the demon world, that's who!"

"Whatever."

"Just fight, Ka-demon!"

Good. He didn't totally blow it. Except for the fact that he is letting the red opponent run right at him, and is not even preparing to dodge. Weird.

But I currently have bigger problems. The blue demon has taken a similar charge towards me. And my god, for such a bulky creature, it moves surprisingly fast. I barely have time to sidestep it before she (I think it's a she) makes contact with what would have been me. She instead strikes the ground, and I see quite a few cracks and rubble where she hit it.

"Brains, brawn, and speed. You must be good. Better than me," I say loudly, trying to boost her overconfidence to dangerous levels. If she's overconfident, she might make a mistake. I have a way with words; even my mother said so. She would know; she could never refuse me when I honey-talked.

"Demon, you have no idea what your boyfriend put you two up against."

_Boyfriend? Dammit, that had better not be what I think she said._

"Indeed, it will be interesting to see you be killed. You are quite skilled."

I stay silent. Silence is the worst torture for these types.

"But you will. Weakling, I sense no significant power, none at all. It seems that the power lies in your legs, which can easily be removed." She reaches into her cloak, and pulls out two daggers, one for each hand. I see them flash in the dim light emitted by the movie screen and see Sensu/Tiguro lookalike looking intensely interested.

As I look up to buy myself some time, I notice Jin seems to be having the time of his life. As for now, the red demon isn't using super-speed, and whenever he tries to nail Jin, he flies out of the way with admirable agility. Not bad, for such a freaky clown. The red demon looks thunderstruck. Then, in some foreign language, he yells to his…wife? Something loudly.

She grins, and jumps over to him. Then she actually drops her knives. That's odd. Weapons would really help her in this situation. Didn't she just say she wanted to chop off my legs? The two of them form a circle with their unusually long arms, and yell something that resembles "SONICBOOM!"

Nothing happens, but they're still grinning ecstatically. Jin lowers to the ground beside me.

"What was that?" I ask Jin apprehensively. He shakes his head, eyes wide. And starts to speak.

He doesn't finish his sentence. I suddenly feel a wave of molten energy rushing toward me. Apparently, it was emitted from their hand circle seconds later. Jin hears/senses it too, and sticks out both of his arms on either side of him. He revolves them slowly, then faster and faster, making real tornado wristbands. Very cool.

I don't have time to savor this interesting move, though. The blast is coming closer, and they seem to be packing all of their spiritual energy into it's destructive power. Though tocks blow airborne as the force-field like object comes nearer, I still hear nothing. Maybe it really is a type of sonic boom. (Sonic boom: When something is past you by the time you hear it coming, e.g. faster than sound)

Then Jin sticks out his tornado gloves and plunges them right in to stop the blast. He yells "Leap out of the way, or something! I can't hold this forever!"

I oblige happily, camouflaging quickly and jumping up onto a nearby demon building. My best weapon is my invisibility ability; you can't hurt what you can't see.

At the last minute, Jin shoots up like a bullet out of the way, and the sonic wave resumes its destructive path. I watch as it annihilates half the watching crowd before stopping and slowly fading from view. Sensu on-screen looks still more pleased.

Jin looks for me worriedly, but unfortunately, I can't reveal my hiding place. Red and Blue seem to have reached the conclusion that Jin has come to, and are worriedly searching the half dead crowd for me, with cries of "Did we get her?" and "I dunno, we should check."

Now's my chance. I slip behind both of them, ready to perform the secret touch. As soon as they are poked in this spot of the chest, they die instantly. I don't want to have to, but this has to end.

I work my way around slowly, like I did with Yusuke so long ago. I am within striking range when Red starts laughing. Blue follows suit. The two of them swivel around with incredible speed and blast me with a sonic wave.

Pain beyond pain.

The force of the blow sends me hurtling back into another building, which collapses right on top of me upon impact. Damn, that HURT!

Jin seems to have realized what happened, and flies into the rubble. Given my present condition, I can no longer hold the camouflage technique. Holding my head, I painfully pull myself out, with Jin's help. I am relieved to realize that my hood is still in place. Good thing I didn't get hit by that other, stronger blast before, or I'd be dead. Deader than dead. Undead. Just like all the blokes here.

I notice many bruises on my body, and am made aware of the fact that Red and Blue are laughing. I really don't see what's so funny. For one thing, I want to know how they knew exactly where I was!

"How did you know where I was?"

More laughing. "We can sense energy auras, child. Don't matter if you're invisible, human, or a mere spirit!"

"I thought I could mask my aura," I whisper to Jin. It's true, Genkai taught me that specifically during meditation class.

"Not enough to suppress it totally. Most adults can't even do it, let alone you."

I suppress my slight anger at being called a child. No use getting mad at my partner. I'm already upset enough by being tricked like that. I wonder what other powers they are hiding?

Jin and I whisper to each other repeatedly, trying to discover a game plan. We will need strategy for this.

At least, we _were _whispering.

A violet blast strikes Jin a glancing blow on his right forearm, and he massages the spot furiously. "What the hell…" Oooooh, bad word for old Jinny.

These two cowards have sent a blast directly towards us, to prevent us from talking about strategies. And they aren't afraid to do more, either. I just dodge another one, and it slightly singes the top of my black hair.

Now the blasts are seriously starting to increase in size and lethality. So I do the only thing I think is best, transform into the panther. My last and most deadly weapon.

Fueled from my battle rage, I transform in two seconds flat. I hear what's left of the crowd go wild, and I am instantly reminded of cheerleaders at a football stadium. Even though this form makes me take more hits and lowers my evasion rate, the panther has quite an ability to take a hit. Or two. Or three. Wide-eyed, the two intensify the blasts. I dodge several of the energy beams, running right up to their source, trying to keep in the circle of the firing. Red and Blue have no time to react. With a great slash of foot long paw, both are sent flying.

I watch where the bodies fall, and run to their positions. I check Blue's landing first, and get there in time to watch the bludgeoned body fade from sight. Okay then, one down. With a new burst of confidence, I turn around-into the face of

...Red himself. And he's a mess. A huge bloody scar entrails itself down his right side where the tunic is ripped, and he has a major head bruise as well.

I can't react, especially not as a huge cat. He hits me squarely on the neck, sending me crashing down to the ground. Those red eyes glint as maliciously as ever, despite his wounds, and draws back his hand for a point-blank energy strike. I start to slash, but he always speeds out of the way in time to avoid the blow. Still drawing energy, he starts to laugh. And I can see what's funny this time. He's gonna get rid of me for good. Heehee. So hilarious. Really.

I shut my eyes, waiting for impact. It's really over.

What was that? That movement? Was it…

Jin has grabbed Red in a position for which neither can move. A sort of headlock/armlock/leglock position. Very good, at least for Jin anyway.

Then, Red starts to kick and screech, but his efforts are in vain. In his frustration, he forgets to fuel his energy beam and it simmers out. Then, I use the first technique I ever learned: fire making. Possibly my best demon area.

I glow all over with electric energy. Blue kitty! Then I force it all into my hands, so I am holding what would look like to others two molten, sky-blue fireballs.

I don't even need to say what happens next, do I?

Well, he crumbles into ash upon contact with the balls.

NOW it's over. Only not for me. He's really gone.

Jin seems even gladder than me. He releases the air which was where he was gripping it tightly anyway with a sigh, and drops to the ground.

"Jin, I have good news and bad news."

"Shoot," he says tiredly.

"The good news. You make an excellent battle partner."

He smiles. "NOW will you go out with me?"

I shudder. "The bad news," I continue, "is that if you EVER-" I jab my finger into his chest hard. "EVER-" (Harder.) "EVER GET US INTO A BATTLE THAT DOESN'T NEED TO BE FOUGHT, YOU'LL HAVE A LOT MORE TO WORRY ABOUT THAN A STUPID DATE!" Frankly, he looks petrified. "GOT IT?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Goooooooooood." I release my finger. "Sheesh…I shouldn't really have to _tell_ you that..."

I look around. The TV like screen that showed Sensu's head now shows a kind of ad : Good Hunting in the Fog! Creatures spotted! Leave now!

I guess that explains why no one was around to see us win. At least, save those that got killed.

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A/N Another battle scene ending! YAY! Review!


	42. Chapter 42

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH, and all invented characters are pure fiction. Oh, andI changed chapter 7 around! Now, there is a difference in how Katrina's mom had Kurama!

**Chapter 42: Expect The Unexpected? Isn't This A Little Extreme?**

Well, it looks like I'm going to be stuck with Jin for a while. None of the other people are here yet, and even Jin is starting to realize it. I actually do not hate him anymore. I think it's just a matter of getting used to him.

That's the thing with Jin, he's weird, but he could still be a good friend. Under desperate circumstances, that is. Like if everyone else on Earth dropped dead. Sure, he's creepy, perky, and downright frustrating, but there are far worse people/demons out there. Jin must have been created in a lab or something, becuase he sure doesn't act like other demons. I mean, even Hiei is worlds different from Jin. Kuramamay be softer and quieter and less evil then most ( at least he _tries_ not to kill people) but he's still not the happy-go-lucky red-haired elf dude. Now there's a mouthful. Still, Jin isn't so bad. Even though he's such a slow moron...like take a few seconds ago. Jin just aked me why my hair was so black. Officially off-topic! Shouldn't he be worried about the others?

But at least he's waiting with me outside of the palace. We are currently in a tiny little alley near Sensu's living quarters, so we cannot be seen. This was the alley we were supposed to meet in. The alley smells of filth, and the ground is very hard, and I can feel it strongly through my thick sneakers. There are puddles of some greenish glutinous fluid. The entire thing is a hellhole of doom. I guess it make sense that Jin picked the spot. Dumb demons like dumb, filthy spots.

I have been waiting here forever with him. He's run out of things to talk about, (which gives you an idea of really how long it's been) so we are just standing here in total silence. Much as I hated him talking incessantly, I have to admit it was still better than silence.

So, for lack of speech, I mutter to myself about how I hate my life. Just think about it. I find out that I have to rescue my father (that obviously cares nothing about me), and then I get wrapped up in this whole conspiracy (obviously against me)which was setup by God (go figure) so now I have 3 different people who need to be rescued (why am I playing the role of Prince Charming in this fairy tale? Why the hell can't I be the damsel in distress?) And of course, these people are protected by a huge (unbeatable) demon, which is also coincidentally after me (for reasons I shall never know) and anyone close to me so they can eliminate my allies and thus capture me (BALONEY-HEADS! WHY CAN'T THEY SEE THAT IT'S JUST NOT HAPPENING?) And lastly, on top of it, I'm going to have to make up _homework_ at the Jun School. (Seriously, don't I get some kind of heroine discount on homework?)

I try desperately to stem the flow.

Finally, after about twenty minutes, I can't take it anymore. I stand up. "Jin, I'm going to look for them. Something's really gone wrong. They should have been here a long time ago."

"Okay. I'll wait here for a little while, to see if any of them come back. You come back soon, too. There won't be anything you can do if you don't find them, and we don't need to lose you too."

"I know. I'll come back eventually, and then it'll be your turn to look while I wait. Okay? We can take it in shifts."

He nods his agreement, and I set off. Walking a little bit, and trying to get my sense of dirrection down,I move past all of the dismalcottages. It looks lik something out of a horror film. All of the houses seem to be made of something resembling straw, and I'm sure if there was any wind, it wouldhave toppled them in seconds.

Finally, the windy, hard dirt trail stops and ends right before the worst of the fog. For some reason, the town has better air than the outside area. Ithink it's because of the Parasi. Maybe they give off worse demonic smelly fog.

There is not exactly a shortage of paths to choose from. I remmeber we came straight in, so I take the right, a different route from which I came in, because I have a greater chance of finding them on different pathways than my own, otherwise I think I would have run into them. I really hope that they are close by, otherwise my eyes will tear up again and I will once again die. And there'll be no smiling idiot to save me, either. I'll be Parasi Kibble.

Compromising,I squint my eyes tightly, and half cover them with my palms to avoid most of the bad air.

Itry to look forward, fail, and stepout again into teh fog that I hate.I check my sneakers after every few steps, because I already lost one boot in that marshy gack, and I don't want to lose another pair to it.

I finally have to hold in my nose to go in deeper. The fog is now a a sick pale yellowish-green color, and the smell is utterly, utterly revolting.This is hopeless. I can't just hope I'l run into someone like this. I can barely see two feet in front of me! I'm nto going to find them!

Wll, at least I know that I was on a completely straight route, so all I hate to do is double back, and I'm fine.

I start to spin around,butI see some black in the fog up ahead. Interested, I move forward. The shape increases, and once it sees me, it stops. I stop too. What is it?

Then,I see it disappear in a milisecond.

Only one person can do that...

"Hiei?"

The black thing reappears right in front of me. It is him. He nods quickly, and grabs my arm and rushes me towards someone lying on the ground. I realize it's Kurama. He has a bad rip in his sleeve, and he must have a leg problem or he's be standing. He looks up at me, and sits up.

"What are you doing here, Kat?" Asks my brother.

"Trying to find you guys! Where have you been?"

"Fighting demon caterpillars," mutters Kurama.

"Parasi? What…did they do that to you?" I ask, noting a rip in his sleeve. Some old dried blood frames it.

"Yes. Eventually, we had to flee. Kind of frustrating, trying to beat ten at once, even for the two of us." Says Hiei, appalled that there is someone out there stronger than him.

"Yeah, I guess so. But, have you seen any of the others? Me and Jin-"

"Who?" says Hiei. I notice he's looking at me again. It's a start.

"Jin. Says he's related to Mie and that he's part of the Shin Obi. Anyway, Jin and I tried to call everyone on their Commirs a little while ago, but no one responded."

"That's odd. Maybe the fog causes interference. Didn't you try to call Touya?"

"Who?"

"Another member of the Shin Obi, one of Jin's pals, powerful ice demon like Yukina. I guess he and Jin split up. But, I would have thought Jin have told you about Touya, though."

"Oh well. Now I know. I was thinking we should search for the other people, too."

"Well then, who are we still missing?"

"Let's see…" I count on my fingers. "We still need Genkai, Botan, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and I guess Touya, too."

"Okay." Kurama stands up straighter. "We can't make the same mistake of splitting up again, Moronic idea, really. We'll just stick together and keep our eyes open. What else is there?"

So we start our slow march again. Kurama keeps tripping, so we have to stop often. Still no sign of anyone else, or luckily the demon crowd.

"Jin asked me to be back soon, so I guess we should go back. Besides, Kurama needs to see a healer, and from what I understand, Jin can heal somewhat. And Hiei, you can stop hiding that now." I gesture to his side.

Hiei takes quite a bit of persuasion. He keeps saying he's fine, though I see him wincing every once in a while from a slight wound on his side. Why is he so eager to say he's fine all of the time, the brat? He could die, and no one would ever know the cause.

One thing that Hiei impresses me about is his ability to think in a crisis. He also is an excellent liar. One would think he'd never met me that day and…

I shudder. _DON'T think about it. DON'T. It's eating you up._

Anyway, finally, Kurama and I win Hiei over and we start to go back. We still are meeting up with no monsters, and it's creeping me out. I don't even sense any power.

When we do get back, everyone pulls up their hoods and we trudge up to the tower. I lead them into the alley. There I see Jin in the same spot, but he's not alone. A tall boy with light blue hair is deep in conversation with him. When he turns around to see what Jin is staring at over his shoulder, I notice three pointed strands of bright-green hair, off on a slant in the center of his forehead. Piercing white eyes look us all over from under his hood. He looks mean, or at the least, bad-natured. There's something forbidding about him.

I realize who it must be. "So that's Touya?" I mutter to Hiei on my left.

"Yes. Weird guy. I remember him from my village as a child. Never wanted to mix with anyone. He was the only one relatively nice."

I shrug. He does look unfriendly, but I can't choose my allies.

"Katrina, I was getting worried!" Yells Jin. We all shush him. I chance a glance at Hiei. Man, if looks could kill, Jin would die before he hit the ground. What's Hiei's deal?

Oh well. I can find out later.

"Katrina," mutters Touya. "The famous panther kitten."

Even Jin can't miss the sarcasm. He shifts from foot to foot nervously. "Touya," I mutter in retaliation. "The famous snow cone."

He narrows those unusual eyes. "Another comment of a jealous lesser intellect."

"You wish." What a stuck-up punk! I don't even know what he just said! Jealous lesser what?

"Wish for what? I can't wish for anything unless I know what it is."

I bare my teeth. "You wish I was dumb."

"Why wish for something that's already in existence?"

_Oh my god. He'll regret those words._

I lunge at him before he has time to react, and so when I collide, we are basically rolling on the ground, in a dust cloud (ha so there RebelWriter). For such a jerk, he fights pretty hard. Scratching, punching, kicking, squealing, and everything else you can do to hurt someone is what we're doing.

I hear Hiei talk to Kurama. "Your sister must keep a rein on her temper."

"You're one to talk."

Hiei smiles.

Jin hesitantly tries to break us up, but Touya, mistaking Jin's arm for mine, lunges and chomps.

Now there are three people fighting with each other.

Finally off of the ground, I pant and try to catch my breath. Touya's skin is so cold, I can't touch him for long. Touya, realizing what has happened, jumps off of the ground as well. As the dust clears, I see a slightly dazed looking Jin sitting on the floor, humming to himself quietly. That's our Jin, all right.

Kurama, seeing opportunity, jumps in between us and stands next to Jin. "Guys, can we please focus on the subjects at hand? C'mon…"

Not working. Touya has made a huge leap over top of Kurama's head, aimed right at me. _Well, if that's the way he wants to play it_…I also spring, and prepare for a head-on midair collision. I am almost to him…almost…

**WHUMP**.

OW! Something has dragged me and Touya down at the same instant…very hard. I wince and pull myself up into a push up position and look behind me to study the thing that has so daringly hurt me.

I don't know what I was expecting, but not this. It's a small vine, a small vine with a death grip on my left ankle. I glare at it and start cursing, trying to tug it off. When that doesn't work, I sharpen my nails and slash at it. Still nothing. But why can't even my claws get rid of a smelly weed?

I chance a glance at my opponent. Touya hasn't had much luck either. He keeps freezing his weed with pure bluish white ice, which he summons from his fingertips, then karate chopping it, to try to break though when it is most brittle. If I hadn't been hating him so much, I might have admired the genius of it. He is also using what I recognize as Shards of Winter, sharp bits of ice hard as steel. Not even that is having effect. Kurama told me about them once, and I guess I remembered it because he said it was the technique that nearly killed him during the Dark Tournament. Maybe this was the same guy Kurama fought. I really would like to find out more about this event, but the only answer I ever receive is a collective shudder. It seems to be a really painful memory.

Speaking of Kurama…

Coming to the same conclusion, we both turn to look at Kurama the Plant Dude towering above. (I mean, what is he, 6 feet high?) He stares down at us like a parent watching children in time out.

"Why are you guys fighting?" He asks evenly. Again, like a parent.

Cries of 'he did it' and 'no she started it' filled the deserted area. Kurama holds up a hand to stop us.

He speaks slowly, so every word vibrates in the air. "You guys fight over insults, and yet there are many we have to save. Lives hang in the balance, and all you two can think about is rivalry." He shakes his head disapprovingly.

God, now I feel awful. My brother can talk a cat into a doghouse when he needs to. It's way unnerving. I guess he is my brother.

"I'll release you both, if you promise to leave each other alone. Got it? Good. Now say it."

Leave the colossal stuck up jerk alone? Not a chance. But I have to get free. "All right. I'll leave His Royal Ass to play by himself. So long as he doesn't start anything."

Touya gives me a glare of pure hate. "And I'll leave the First Class Imbecile alone too."

Kurama rolls his eyes. "All right, good enough, I suppose. Now…" He stares at our binds, as though expecting them to bow down or something. To my surprise, they only retreat back into the ground. I stand up shakily. My left hip hurts. It's all Touya's fault! One hundred percent!

Reeeeeeeeeeeeally! It really was! I swear!

Jin has awoken. He's laughing soooooooooooooo hard, as he heals Hiei, of course to Hiei's great displeasure. What was that I said about him being a loyal friend?

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A/N You know what I'll say, R and R!


	43. Chapter 43

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH and all invented characters are pure fiction.

**Chapter 43: The Hunt Is On**

Ow. How can anyone, demon or not, sleep here for one full night? I've just awoken, and I must say I'm really sore. Is the ground here really just steel covered in a showering of dirt? Or maybe just some nice comfy granite...

I groan and stretch, my muscles screaming. I'm all dirty too, and this bloody robe is not helping. No one else has appeared to have awoken yet. Soft snores issue from their bodies, the loudest from Jin. It figures. Hiei is the only one who's somewhat quiet.

I guess I'll just go for a walk around this dump then. They shouldn't worry. They of all people should know I _can_ take care of myself. Didn't I hold my own against one of the very Shin Obi yesterday?

I glare at Touya's sleeping form. Hiei annoyed me because he was a macho punk. Jin annoyed me because he'd never shut up. But I hate Touya. And I really don't know why, but it's probably just because of the fact that I hold deep grudges that I usually do nothing about.

I make sure my disguise is firmly in place, and then I walk out into the dirty commonplace. I guess it's so early that only a few demons are outside. I see one tentacled thing leaning on what I suppose must be a porch, and he's deep in conversation with a similar creature. Only that one is oozing drool all over the ground around it. If I live to get home, I'm never setting foot outside again as long as I live.

Hey! Why didn't I think of it before? I could search for the others! No one else will care, because they know I'm responsible in terms of fighting. I might as well; otherwise we're going to be stuck here for the rest of our lives waiting for everyone else to return. I don't think they're just going to pop in one day and say Hello. Either they're captured, injured, or dead. If Yusuke is dead, that will severely hinder us. He;s a very strong fighter, second to only Genkai and me. Kuwabara, I haven't really seen fight yet, but it appears that he's useless. And Botan...well, useless, but she always kept us smiling. That is, when she wasn't pissing the hell out of us with her constant perkiness. I hate to admit it, but without them, our chances are severely slimmed. Even Botan...I mean, not a god fighter, but very fast and can quickly deliver a message. I've heard that she has the best sense of navigation in all Spirit World.

As I reach the edge of town, I come again to the crossroads, and I take the right fork. That's the only route out of 3 I haven't been on yet. Jin and I came from the left fork, and found Kurama and Hiei on the middle fork. Chances are, some of my (ahem) friends are stranded somewhere on that road.

But are they my friends? I mean, several days after I first flew to Japan, I planned on getting out of here with as few memories as possible. I didn't want to make friends. I didn't want any ties to this teeny little island. I wanted to get there, pretend to learn something, and go. Nothing else.

Man, I miss my mother.

Now, I have really mixed feelings about that initial reaction. I mean, sure, I definitely have met some friends, not to mention my long-lost brother. But how will I show them to Mom? _Hey Mom, how are you? This is my friend Hiei the fire demon, Yusuke and Kuwabara the Spirit Detectives, and Kurama, my long lost brother! We'll be one big happy family from now on!_

Her various reactions form in my head, each more hilarious than the last. Fainting, screaming, dying, shock, bright red face, disbelief…but damn it, if I do find my father, it won't be a welcome pat he's got coming to him...

Wait a sec. Was that movement?

I coulda sworn I saw something black move through the space of fog right ahead. How strange.

I walk quicker, and inspect the area cautiously. Either that was a long lost person, or an enemy. I have every right to be careful. I hate not knowing what I'm up against. It makes me feel very vulnerable in a situation like this. I search through again, and again, and again…still nothing. Am I just imagining things?

No. That was movement. I'm not going crazy. Ever since Genkai helped my old cat-eyes disappear with my training, I have had great vision. My eyes do not lie.

There it is again! Out of the corner of my left eye, I saw something small dart somewhere behind me. What is this thing?

I'm now a little apprehensive. Now I know whatever-it-is has good speed as well as the advantage of surprise. Not nearly as fast as Hiei, but definitely quick. Just like…

"Genkai?" I whisper. "Is that you?"

Nothing but an eerie silence.

"Genkai, please let that be you."

"Eer."

"What?"

"_Eer,"_ Whispers the voice more urgently.

"Who are you?"

"Gakking is ard enuff. Hewp be."

Okay. Why does it sound like Yusuke now? "Yusuke?"

"Dust cum eer!"

What do I have to lose? I follow the direction of the anguished voice. There I see someone I recognize. I know that black hair and small, flat form...

"Mie?" I whisper incredulously.

"Yesh!" She whispers indignantly. She is bound and gagged, nursing a wound on her leg. I guess that why she sounded so weird. I bend down to untie her, still processing this information.

"Mie, why are you here?"

"I escaped, all right?"

"In binds? That's a little strange, Mie."

"No, no! I blew myself out! You know, wind power? 'Member?"

"Oh."

"What is wrong?"

"Nothing." I can't tell her my suspicions! "Let's just go back, okay? You wouldn't have seen anyone, would you? Like, Botan, Genkai, Yusuke, Kuwabara…any of them?"

She shakes her head. I roll my eyes. "I'm starting to think they were buried alive in cement in your backyard."

She gasps. I roll my eyes again. I'm tired, so I'm easily irritated. "Just get up! Can you stand, or will I carry you?"

She tries to stand, but collapses again. So, I end up carrying her in a piggyback back to the alley. I guess it's good that she's so small.

It's a slow trip back. When I finally do get there, I am angered to see that everyone else except Ol' Hiei is asleep. Darn them all!

When Hiei sees me, the look on his face is priceless. He watches me bring her down, and as I stand up again, his face has returned to its usual expressionless state. He asks coolly, "You found Mie?" He doesn't seem happy, and I realize happily that she was flirting with him last time he was with her.

"Yes. I went out for an early walk to see if I could find any of the others. Mie spoke to me, so I could figure out where she is. Isn't that right, Mie?"

She's dead asleep.

"Good. Hiei, can I speak to you for a moment?"

"I suppose. Leave Mie there."

I drop her down. I then lead Hiei into an adjacent alley. "Hiei, I don't think it was coincidence that I found Mie. Because, I saw something darting around very fast around the area where she was, and she didn't answer me right away. I think the darting thing placed her there as soon as it sensed me. It's just, I dunno, I can't trust her like I used to. I don't know why, but I wish I did. She used to be my best friend."

"Proof?"

"None."

We are both silent.

"I guess that's it then," I begin. "We'd better go."

He nods, and leads the way. He's still being slightly stiff with me. Can't he just get over it? I mean, it was just one incident. I don't even mind anymore. He's still a good friend, just not anything more or less. I hope he sees it the same way.

I return to find Mie awake. She's looking curiously at everyone, at all the new faces. I noticed they have all woken up. Maybe Mie did that. They jump as soon as I come in.

"Katrina, you found Mie?"

"Yes."

"That's great! Now there's one down!"

They start talking animatedly to each other again. I don't join in. I sit in a corner to think.

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I've been sitting in this corner for what seems like forever. And I still haven't solved anything. It's so frustrating. I really don't have any proof. And there's nothing I can do about it.

On the one hand, Mie has been very weird and unpredictable ever since she went into the fog with Keiko and Botan.

On the other hand, why couldn't she have blown herself out of danger? Mie's pretty smart, it wouldn't have been hard.

Then again, that wouldn't explain the darting demon. Mie couldn't dart like that even if she wasn't under wraps.

And finally, could this suspicion be nothing more than anger at all those insults she threw at me randomly?

I don't get it. I need more information. Is this how CIA agents feel? Utterly useless?

I don't know. I don't know I don't know I don't know.

"_Yes, so far everything is fine_."

I hear the whisper right next to me. It's a low-pitched voice. In the darkness, and I can see huge, skinny hulking beast. It looks kind of like the feral imp in Yu-Gi-Oh, with large, tasseled batlike ears. I can only see it's dark sillouhette.

I watch her/him/it. trying not to breathe. I am sort of paralyzed. I don't want to know what it is.

"_Yes, Yusuke is gone. We will come."_

Oh my god what the hell oh my god what the hell is up here?

"_They're noticing. No time."_

I angle myself to see them in the light, but they are gone. I can see dust clouds showing its path.

What was that?

Did I just have a brush with one of Sensu's minions?

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A/N Review! I apologize for typos, but I am not proofreading this again or I will become a piece ofindistinguishable glutinous sludge. Happy days!


	44. Chapter 44

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH and all invented characters, such as Katrina Kon, are pure fiction.

**Chapter 44: Annoyance**

"Remember, Katrina, we can't be seen."

"Kurama, that's the tenth time you've told me."

"You've been known to act rashly."

"Wha---but Hiei does too! I don't see you bugging _him!_"

He makes an impatient noise. "I don't care. As you are my sister,I get to boss you around. Mwahaha. And for thatcomment,let's go over the plan again. You say it, it's your turn."

Jeez, he's such a pain. "It's simple, _dear brother._ All we have to do is get close to that TV like screen where Jin and I fought Red and Blue, and we're golden. We have to find out news about the others, to see if they were captured or not." I take a breath. "Then, we just have to watch for a headliner."

"And…?"

"And...I am so going to rip you limb from limb if you don't stop that."

"Katrina!"

I sigh loudly and aggravatedly. "If there's no headliner about captives, we go to search for them ourselves. Happy now?"

"What else?"

Humph. Guesshe doesn't take me seriously. "Go soak your head."

"Good idea." SaysTouya angrily. "What is up with all of the disguise?"

So am I. "Yeah, why all the secrecy, Kurama? Don't tell me our wittle boy's getting pawanoid!" I pinch and wiggle his cheeks the way grandmothers do.

He glares at me, and sweatdrops as well. "Well, we have Mie. We don't want her captured again. She could be really useful, in the way of getting into the castle."

"Oh course, _dear brother._ Shall we proceed, _dear brother?_"

"Stop calling me 'dear brother'!"

"Certainly, dear brother." I giggle. Jin also laughs.

He (Kurama)makes a noise like an angry cat. Mwahahahah! Serves him right.

We start to move, finally. We were just standing there, on the hard cold ground, waiting for him to get on with the plan.Mind you, it isn't a very good plan, but it's all we've got so far. Of course, Hiei and I are in front, to navigate for my poor dear brother.

Okay, now I'm annoying _myself._ Scary.

I am in a bad mood. It's just one of those days where you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, or in my case, the metallic ground. What I wouldn't give for that garden in Koenma's quarters!

I'm not feeling very hopeful about this whole let's watch TV in demon-land plan. For one thing, we checked three times earlier today, obviously also on the TV, but still no significant reports. At least, nothing about Yusuke, Kuwabara, Genkai, or Botan. Ever since I brought back Mie, Kurama has been in this annoying mania that we have to find everyone else. I don't have the heart to tell him that he's wasting his time. They've met a major block somewhere, and if that's the case, there's not much that we can do. I say we should get on with killing Sensu and then finding them, but no one listens to me. Why should _they_ listen to _me_? I only know what's best!

Perhaps it is because of my bad mood that I feel we are taking so long. Is Kurama dragging his feet, or what? Or maybe it's Touya. Evil Touya…Or maybe it's just because of the fact that we're in the fog again. Kurama took us out into the fog, and then jabbered endlessly so as not be heard (huh?) and no we are trekking back to the TV. I have more important things to do!

I mentally shake myself violently. I usually start to hate everyone when something bad is about to happen, but I hope that this time I am wrong.

Ah, now here we are! As I step into the village, I feel a lot better. This place is becoming my home. Horrid. There are plenty of demon folk today, I guess because everyone, including me, woke up really late. It's almost like everyone's getting comfy here but me. Since this TV is the only one that we know of here, everyone crowds here every day. I can't believe I missed it whenI first got here. I was probably too shocked at the stench, or the relief of finding some kind of civilization. It's true: it does smell horrible in here, but there is less fog. Kurama once explained to me that the fog dissipates outward, so the capitol is cleaner, but it is still smellier because of Sensu.

You know what they say: the more power, the more stink.

Well, maybe they don't say that, but that is teh system for demons. Work with me here!

What I really don't get is the fact that nobody agrees with my idea that breaking in would be the best option at this point. They just keep saying that we've got to wait the Unaccounted Four, which is what we call them, to arrive. But I don't think they're going to arrive. It's been a week already. The way I see it, the Unaccounted Four either:

Got lost and are still out there somewhere, on the edge of starvation undoubtedly

Been captured

Died.

There's just no other way. I tried to think that they're having a nice tea-party somewhere, but I have had to come to grips with reality. I have been in this fog for two days over one week, 9 days, and I am by no means used to it. But my companions are all pureblooded demons, so maybe they don't mind it as much. Half demons notice it more. I'm glad that I'm not completely human, though. The fog, which has been steadily worsening, wouldn've killed me in a second.

We crowd around the screen. I keep tripping over Mie's overlarge robe hem. Jin gave her his robe, because I guess he's been here before so he wouldn't stand out. Not like Mie, anyway. A human in this mess? Dead meat before you could say 'oops.' And that's not counting the fog.

I continue to stare at the blank dark screen. I hate movies, demon or real. They always take forever to start.

Finally, some demons fall silent, and gradually so does everyone else.

The screen starts to glow a blood red, as well as furry headed Sensu slaughtering bunches of demons. That's his seal that I saw earlier. Then, it glows white, and switches to a tubby little creature. Mie stands up and blocks my view.

Angrily, I elbow her out of the way, and I stand on tiptoe and view the screen. This is really quite interesting, at least for a demon attraction. It would have been more interesting, though, if I hadn't been here so many times before.

Sensu's news reporter, or who I suppose must be his reporter, is talking again. It's a fat blue thing with glasses. It jabbers about agriculture and their plans for the human world. Slaughter, death, pain, suffering, torture, blah, blah, blah. Tell me another demon hobby! Something that involves miniature golf!

Here we are. Captain Tubby takes a deep breath. "And now, on with the BREAKING HEADLINE! Under the RECENT CAPTURES section---"

"This could be it," I hiss to Kurama. He shushes me urgently, which doesn't help my ticked-offed-ness.

"---Two humans have been successfully captured! Yes, you heard me, in demon world!They are believed to be the infamous Spirit Detective Yusuke and his sidekick whose name is unknown!" I almost laugh at the thought of Kuwabara's reaction to being called a sidekick.

"They are being held in Sensu's palace! Here…" The screen changed, and two very beat up boys appear to be hanging, by thick ironwrist chains. I feel instantly bad for them. I'm surprised their clothes haven't completely fallen off, with all of the tatters on them. It is indeedYusuke out cold to the left, and he is slightly drooling. To the right is Kuwabara, who is very much conscious. He keeps summoning a very pretty orangenergy sword, and slices at the chains viciously. Much like Touya and I with Kurama's plant, he isn't having much luck.After every fruitless try, the crowd laughs.It is actually pretty funny, it he weren't in such danger.

"C'mon, what's gonna happen..." mutters Kurama.

The screen switches back to the oddly colored demon reporter. "Their fate includes getting their soul energies sucked right out of their shells to feed the Lord Sensu's growing project! Also, for your own interest,there are believed to be two more tasty human women! The hunt is on, find them if you please! Another bit of information…let's see…" He pathetically shuffles through his papers lying on a mahogany desk in front of him. "Ah, yes, openings out are being watched for the human scum. Any humans caught will be transportedto Sensu for anice lunch, and so will be their demon handlers if there are any. Turn in those human females should you find them and receive a fabulous award! And with that, our broadcast in concluded!"

The screen fades back into its original state of stormy gray. Several demons grumble about how short the broadcast was and all walk/slither/crawl/I don't know how they go -back to their homes.

I can't believe it. Now that the broadcast is over, shock is settling down.Someone captured YUSUKE? The strongest of the strong? The one who triumphed over Tiguro? And with Kuwabara with him too…was it those Parasi? Or was it Sensu himself? Just what the hell of a demon are we dealing with here?

And 'two human women.' That meant that Genkai and Botan arestill in a lot of dangerous...danger, but by no means caught. Looks like we'll have to search for them next.

Guess the others have reached the same conclusion. We all form a little chatting circle.

Kurama speaks. "Looks like we know who we're looking for."

I say, "Yes. One question, though. What will they do with Yusuke and Kuwabara? What did that punishment mean?"

"We'd best not think about that---" Starts Mie, turning slightly green.

"Well, with ordinary humans, they would be eaten alive." Mie excuses herself, and Kurama loos vaguely amused. "But not with these guys. Because of their incredible spirit power, they are going to be used to feed something. A project of Sensu's."

"You're KIDDING! What is this project?"

"I'm really not sure," answers Kurama slowly. "Because demons seem to be obsessed with destroying the human world, it must have somehting to do with a kind of doom device. Just...let me think on it." He says irritably, glaring at us all watching him intently.

"Ok. Tell me more about Sensu. I need to know about this guy if I can ever hope to defeat him." I say.

"Whatever. All we know is that he's aLower ClassA demon, and---"

"Lower class A demon?"

"Oh, that's the way the Spirit world judges demons in terms of strength. A is the highest, F is the lowest."

"Wow! What are all you guys?"

Jin speaks. "Well, I think I'm in the upper C class. Been a while since I checked with Koenma in the matter. And my little cousin here," (he lookes at Mie's green face fondly. He told us a while ago that he was the one who raised Mie, and that she was really important to him. Since we brought her back, his mood has increased dramatically, if that's even possible.) "Well, Mie is in the upper D class."

"I think I'm a B class…" says Touya uncertainly. "And Riku...well, he's...I dunno. I never really cared."

"Riku?"

"A demon that looks like a human child. His power is yo-yos. Don't ask. It's a kind of hypnosis thing. Hemultiplies himself.But he's not here even though he's a powerful player because his mother said no."

"That's pathetic."

"I know." Says Kurama. "But he is very strong.Almost kicked Kuwabara up a tree."

No one else speaks. "Well…Hiei…Kurama?"

"We're both upper B," they say in unison.

"My dad?"

"Between an A and a B...or something like that."

"Tiguro?"

"---Now come on, this is getting stupid---" begins Touya.

"Upper B class."

"That's it?"

"Yup."

"And me?"

Kurama and Hiei glance at each other.

"C'mon guys, I don't care if I'm lower F class or upper A class, I just want to know."

Hiei and Kurama whisper with each other. Finally, "I'll ask Koenma to tell you when we get back, ok?"

"You already know, though! I know you do!"

"Yes, but we think…we know for a fact that knowing your class level can greatly change your battle style for the worst."

"How so?"

"Just think on this. Let's say an UpperB class demon was going to fight a level B class demon. If the upperB class demon knew how powerful he/she really was, then that might cause him to get cocky in the upcoming fight, and in doing so, lose as well. Because technically, the higher level demon has the advantage. Not that that's your scenario, but it was just an example. _Purely hypothetical._"

"Wow, I'm an upper B class! Go me!"

"That's not..."

"Yes, it is, you liar. Can we get going, now?"

"Please." Says Touya.

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A/N Review!


	45. Chapter 45

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH and all invented characters are pure fiction. The storyline is mine.

**Chapter 45: Strange**

God, now I'm really starting to get cold. I think since the Spirit World is such a screwed up place is the reason that when it should be summer, it's starting to get really, really cold. Almost like one of those biting breezes you get in the upper part of the U.S.

Anyway, I think the rest of the team is finally starting to feel it too. All are shivering in their robes, and Jin has loudly voiced his thoughts that Botan and Genkai are in no immediate trouble, and that we should really look for Yusuke and Kuwabara, who are definitely in danger. Since no one else answered, I guess they also agree, but don't want to say it aloud.

Though Botan and Genkai are important to me, I still agree with Jin that they are probably fine, and that we should storm the castle in the search for those buffoons on the menu. Truth is, we checked the news already today, and no sign of anyone having caught them yet. And Touya said that all imported "food" is checked first, so we would know even if one of the villagers caught them. This is getting so tiresome though! I'm frozen in my boots and it isn't even snowing. I am like a double frosted snow cone, and damn, to make things worse, now I'm hungry!

"G-guys, we've be-been wa-walking for-forever." I can hear Jin's teeth chattering.

"Well, what would _you_say we should do?" Snaps Hiei.

"Go home and have a nice pot of coffee." He mutters, so only I can hear him.

"You know, this is starting to get cold. The wind is too powerful. Jin and I can't hold it off for long." Says Mie desperately.

It's true. The wind would be even worse if both of them hadn't pitched in. But both of their powers are fast giving way. Their wall of wind is weakening after two hours of solid walking.

"I wonder how Botan and Genkai are faring in this weather," I say, thinking aloud.

"Can't be doing well," mutters Kurama. "If we don't find them soon, their chances for survival are slim to none, and this is Genkai we're talking about. The hardiest person I ever knew."

"Well, we certainly can't think about their untimely deaths," I growl. "Anyway, it's not too late. Everyone packed food for at least a month, plus warm clothing, and they've almost been missing for two weeks. They're not dead."

Kurama shrugs, which doesn't do a good job of improving my spirits. Suppose Kurama had a point. Was it too much to assume that they are still alive? What if something had found them, and eaten them rather than turn them in? What if…?

Ugh. There goes the appetite I just worked up. Gross. Why do I always think like this? Is it my personality? Or is it just that I'm a masochist?

I think I'll go with personality.

As the rest of us fall behind due to sluggishness from the cold, Touya takes the lead. I envy his power. He grew up cold, to live. No wonder this just feels like a light summer breeze to him.

"ACK! What is that on my foot!"

I answer Mie's cry, and roll my eyes when I get to her. What a baby.I talk to her slowly and carefully. "It is some muck, Mie. It is not here to suck out your brains. Just peel it off."

With a look of utmost revulsion, she obliges. When she thinks I have my back turned, she glares at me with pure hatred.

"I saw that."

Mie stamps her foot angrily and stares at the ground. Why is she acting like a child?

And I guess she really does hate me now. I just wish I really knew why.

Jin and Mie have now both given way to the merciless wind, and seriously, it is literally knocking me off my feet. Like that U.S. tornado hurricane Floyd. I was on vacation in the Carolinas, and it hit really hard. Mom just said that we were lucky the rental home didn't collapse on us, as we didn't have a basement.

What am I doing, flashing back to extinct times? There's at least two more months spent in this dump, and it's really driving me crazy. I have to look for the Unaccounted Two, but it's getting increasingly hard. I'm trying, I really am! But I guess sometimes I need to escape and go into these trances. I've heard of soldiers doing just that, called Nostalgia Syndrome or something of the sort. But I've heard it can be really dangerous in combat, so that's why I try not to go through it too often. But sometimes, while falling asleep at night, I'll remember my mom, or my house, or friends, or American school, and it calms me down as well as it makes me hurt for the life I led before I met Kurama. I mean, even if he is my brother, I wish I had never met him. The good friend and bro that he is, I still wish he would leave me to do ordinary stuff, like play soccer, or make other friends, or swim, or anything else.

I realized something today, and I can't knock it out.

I'm not brave.

I'm not the one to play the hero.

I don't like the attention. I don't need the responsibility. I don't need it.

Don't need it.

Don't need it.

I want to go home.

Back where I was just Kat Kon, that pretty black-haired girl who had a dead dad and a nice mom and was really sweet, smartand pretty. I was everyone's envy. The perfect Mary Sue, I was. Whathappened to that peaceful life?

"Guys, I think we've searched everywhere. They are not here." Says Touya calmly, still not affected one bit. "Man, the wind is starting to pick up, eh?"

"YOU FREAK! YOU FINALLY NOTICED?" I yell, fighting not to give away the tears on my cheeks in my voice.

"Anyone else think we should continue?"

Touya yells, "I do!"

"But you're not freezing your ass off, you ice pop." I growl at him.

"Okay, anyone else wanna stay?" Yells Kurama again.

No one else speaks.

"We head home, then. We have to assume the worst has happened, because we've been around here countless times. Guys, you just gotta know when to give up."

"You're one to talk," says Hiei with an amused edge to his voice. "I seem to recall you driving us like cattle this whole route. You and the Ice Pop," he laughs, using my name for Touya. "Ice pop." He repeats happily. Recently, Kurama told me Hiei has this thing for ice cream, or 'sweet snow' as he calls it. He would like the term Ice Pop. That's gonna be his birthday present. Five whole boxes of Ice Pop and other ice creams.

Touya rolls his eyes. He seems to be a lot more tolerant with Hiei than with me. I get the picture that somehow; Touya and Hiei are best friends. It makes sense; they're both mean to almost everyone, they're both killer fighters…

_Thirty minutes later..._

We are at home. Or the alley we call a home, anyway. I just hope I don't find a gun anywhere, or I might find I have an irresistible urge to shoot myself. Or maybe just Touya, who's essence would probably shoot me back anyway. In the end, there would be nothing left, because when we killed each other, our very dust particles would destroy each other. What an amusing thought. _Little mites fighting each other…_

Though I probably wouldn't die anyway, being in the Spirit World.

My god, I am talking to myself nonstop. SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP! With no one to really talk to, I get really, really, really bored and think to myself, question life and death, why I am here, and why I suddenly hate myself so much.

"Ah, here we are. Again." Says Kurama with a bored edge to his voice.

"That was surprisingly quick."

"I know. Let's just walk by the guards casually, just like all of the other times." My brother really is a little genius. I hate him!

As soon as he speaks those words, it becomes much harder to do for all of us. We end up swaggering slowly past the guards, trying not to laugh. Even Kurama. What was that I said about him being a genius again?

So naturally, we get busted by the uglier of the two guards. "What're you doing here?"

"Returning to the demon city, officer," hisses Kurama convincingly.

"All right, you go on through. And you and you and you…" He has just let me and everyone else through besides Mie when he stops and sniffs loudly. "I smell HUMAN!"

"You do? I don't smell---"

I cover his mouth quickly. "Officer, we have had a huge lunch of the human girls mentioned on the broadcast earlier. Zey were delicious." I rub my stomach area. The others, catching wind, do the same.

The guard looks immensely disappointed. "Oh well, I thought---well, I'm just hungry. I should go back to my shed now. You wanna come?"

He must be indicating us, as the other guard is not moving. Jin the big mouth agrees immediately, and I cover up his mouth too late.

The guard, of course, is delighted, and invites us to a crummy shack a quarter mile walk away, and ushers us in. For a demon, this one's remarkably social.

"Come in, come in, all ye!"

"Certainly," says Hiei in a strained sort of voice. The rest of them all mutter similar replies.

The guard has us sit down in his dingy living room. The whole place is dank, dark, disgusting, and infested with everything, so I (and everyone else) make a quick oath to leave very, very early.

Then he starts to talk. "Well, I'm so glad you could come. Right happy, in fact. This may be personal but I wanted to know…would ye all be loyal to Sensu?"

Uh-oh. If we answer the wrong way, we could end up in a dungeon. "Are you?"

There's a tense silence. "No."

"Good. Neither are we."

"Good. Now I'll just arrest ye."

A/N I just reread this. This episode is entirely off-topic. Excuse the randomness. I'm changing the ending though, so thank god it's not quite so corny...review!


	46. Chapter 46

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH and all other characters not belonging to YYH are fictional.

And people, you seriously do not want to know how this was originally. It was the gayest little thing! Thank God I quick-edited this first!

**Chapter 46: A Scuffle** **With A Moron**

"Um..." says Jin worriedly. "You wouldn't arrest _us_...right?"

"I assure you, I am to arrest any suspicious looking individuals, or those who are disloyal to Sensu. His rules, not mine. Besides, didn't you hear the news this morning? He wants the human girlsbrought to him alive. And as you ate them already, you'll serve their purpose." He shrugs, and I can tell this guy can be easily swayed. He's just another stupid minion.

We all glare at Kurama. If he hadn't herded us out to look for Genkai and Botan, we might have thought up a better excuse for smelling of human!

As we watch, I notice Kurama is reaching into his hair, and Hiei is grabbing his sword, as well as Jin starting to wheel his fists very slowly, so that it only looks like a nervous reaction,for the Tornado Punch thing. I glance at them, silently persuading them not to fight. We can't fight this guy yet. He wields all the power. We just can't risk it. What if he can call up Sensu realy quick?

They glare at me, but stop preparing for war.

I start. "Oh, but why are you loyal to Sensu?" With all of the preppy barbie flair that most girls above the fourth grade consider a token of the utmost evil.

"Why---WHY AM I LOYAL TO SENSU? He's the greatest demon ever! He's slowly killing the Spirit World! Why else?" He rolls great, toadly green eyes. "You say I'm mad to follow him? Jeez, lady, the truth is that you're mad _not_ to follw 'im!"

"But does he actually care about his guards?" This is so cliche, but it's worth a shot.

"I assume so. We haven't exactly had lunch together, butin what way are we talking about here? Oh, wait, let me get my stunner, will you come quietly?"

I ignore this. "Does he ever thank you for your duties? Rounding up human scum?"

"No, but he shouldn't have to. I'm his employee, and he doesn't need to thank me for anything."

"Don't you think that is a bit unfair?" Honey and oil makes the demon mind boil.

"Well, now that you mention it, maybe a change in the system would be in order. Although, I'm not treated badly, anyway." It tugs on its shirt collar awkwardly. "I'm going to get my stunner now! WILL YOU COME QUIETLY OR NOT?"

"I think that a well-working demon such as yourself should indeed be given more free rein. Don't you wish you were a regular citizen? At least they get rewards for their work, slaughtering...people. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Well, I suppose I could always quit...man, I must really be mad."

Out of the corner in my eye, I see Kurama whispering to Hiei with a look of awe. "Then why don't you just let us go, and continue your life in stride!It's so easy to quit!" God, I sound like one of those Beauty Salon commercials.

"Maybe I could…no, woman, believe me when I say I can't take that risk!I'd beflayed over a slow fire!"

"But you'll want to let us go after we tell you who we are!"

"Really?"

"YES!" Yells Jin suddenly."We can seriously help your legal position! Because…because we are representatives of the Underrepresented…Drooling Demons Club! So, we must get going to continue our crusade."

Kurama steps in, but Demon Face cuts him off. "How does that help me?"

"Because you are an underrepresented member...never mind. Just let us go, and you will not regret it!"

"No, I won't!" We start to leave, but he comes up behind us again."HALT!You!" He points at me."Drop the act!"

"I-I am not a human!" I say. How'd he know?

"Yes you are! The stench of human is not leaving you! If you had eaten a human it would be gone by now! Don't you try to sweet talk me, mortal bitch!"

My face feels hot. My honey talking only caused me humiliation and exposure.

At this rude comment, a huge mass of people and a whole mane of red hairjump on the space toad. In seconds, he is wrapped up in a green vine, definitely of Kurama's. He writhes hopelessly.

"Wha---why'd you guys stop killing the idiot?" I ask, looking at the guard just laying on the floor, twitching. "Don't you want him dead?"

"We're all getting a piece of this one. Demons like that." Says Kurama. "No one calls my little sister a bitch!" He smirks, and I see the Youko shining through that once pure smile.

"And no one calls my love a bitch." Says Jin. I hate him. Why does he like me? We're polar opposites. It must be the whole one is attracted-one is repelled kind of thing. Does that even exist?

"And no one calls my..." Hiei pauses, not knowing what to say. "..._Friend_ a bitch!"

Mie says nothing, but smiles at me. "Same for me, but I don't really want a piece. I'll watch the pieces get _shredded_." It must be puberty. Now she's my friend again. What on earth is wrong with her?

Touya shrugs. "Hell, I'm just doing it cause everyone else is."

Good old Touya. "I love you, too." I hiss angrily. Why are they all doing this? Can't they all just admit that they only want this guy's blood?

They all count to three, and then bam...

For you to get the full feeling of this, let me ask you a riddle. What do you get when you mix Shards of Winter, Rose Whip, Tornado Fists, and some severe form of sword slashing?

A big, fat, pile of gloppy blue glop.

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A very sorry looking bunch is in the alley today. It's all of us. And believe me, we are unhappy.

Kurama speaks in a dead-sounding voice. "Let's consider what we DO know. Yusuke and Kuwabara have been captured, and probably will be tortured publicly before their soul consumption." I am not the only one who shivers. "As for Botan and Genkai, well, we have to assume that the worst has happened, and that they are dead. Or at least dying. We know they have not been captured, thus far. And...we just killed a guard, and that will not go uninvestigated. Anyone have any ideas about where to go from here?"

No one responds. He looks vaguely pained.

"In that case, I'll just have to continue my rant…again. We have to find the two that are definitely still alive, a.k.a. Yusuke and Kuwabara. In doing so, we will have to break into the castle. It shouldn't be hard, we just need a diversion, so I suggest-"

"You suggest. You suggest, Kurama, but nothing happens." Jin says dully. It doesn't sound like him at all. We are all falling under a depression. Kurama says it's the fog getting to us. I think it's the fact that we are getting nothing done, and none of us really know what to do.

"Well, if any of you would make an effort, than I could make my plans realities." Ooooh. If Kurama starts to snap, then he must be really angry. No response, and then...

"What's the point?" Mutters Touya. "This was ridiculous from the start. What did splitting up accomplish again?We only ended up losing Botan and Genkai, as well as imprisoning the Spirit Detective. We have lost our most valuable players, and there's no point in continuing without them. 'Make a diversion,' you say. What could distract some of the toughest looking guards I've ever seen? They are trained never to move, so believe me, they won't. I was a guard for a different demon lord about 40 years ago, before I became a member of the Shinobi. Believe, me, you move – you die. That's all there is."

"So, you'll just give up?"

"Yep." Says Jin softly. "Touya's right, it's pointless. Well, maybe not _pointless,_ but the odds are so ridiculously slim that it's virtually nil."

"Look, what are you so down about?" Asks Kurama. I wonder why he's not affected.

"Everything. Lack of real food, lack of the others who are gone, lack or air, lack of real water…"

"And you call yourselves Shinobi," says Kurama disgustedly, "getting down because your tummies hurt."

"Yep." Says Jin. The sarcasm made a whistling noise as it went right over his head.

Kurama makes a snorting noise and sits down in a corner, not looking at any of us.

I wonder why I didn't defend him. I mean, he's right, as always. I should have come to his rescue. But I just get so dispirited when I look at them all. They're miserable as hell, so what's the remedy for that, Kurama? Where's the genius in you now?

I look around me, overcome by the hopelessness I sense from the others. Desperate, I drift off…

Soaring, on the back of a crow…It drops me and turns into people I trust. Lahri...Kurama...Hiei...Botan… Why is this happening? 

_The shadow of the crow materializes in front of me. _

_I look around. I'm in the alley. I stare ahead of me. It's the alley as normal as ever._

_I see Genkai and Botan near me. They are whispering in dull voices to each other, and looking around, obviously confused…pointing at the palace…_

_The scene changes, abruptly. The background turns green. Genkai is now dressed in a chef's suit, and Botan eyes are crossed._

_Botan turns into a paddle, and whacks Genkai on the side of the head, and Genkai starts hitting her with her apron...the battle continues...Genkai pulls out a knife and chops off the paddle portion of Botan...the chunk falls to the ground, motionless...Botan screams...then, a huge paddle scoops up Genkai and it turns into a ladle, and something eats Genkai in the ladle..._

_Botan's severed headpops up in the middle of the screen...HELP US..._

Someone is slapping my face. I blink and open my eyes, making sure I'm still alive. Man, what a vivid dream!

But why did Mie wake me up? I was so close…"Mie, wha…what's up?"

"You needed to wake up." She is so insistent.

"Why?"

"You were twitching, and muttering about Genkai stop-cutting-up-the-paddle or whatever. Something wrong? Dream something?"

Innocent Mie. "No, nothing. I just…got a weird dream. It was real in the beginning, but then something happened...and it went all weird. Like, there was this paddle..."

"That's what a dream is, Kat."

I eye her. "Why are you being so nice?"

"I dunno. Mood swings, you know? You'll have to excuse them. I know I'm a baby one minute and a mature human the next, but it'll end in about 4 years."

"Great."I say sarcastically, and sit up, only to lie back down. "I think I'll go to bed."

"Fine. See you in the morning."

When she lies back down a couple of paces away from me, I contemplate the dream, trying to find it's meaning. If it even has a meaning. What on earth did the paddle have to do with anything? And since when does Genkai wear an apron? And why was she getting eaten by a doggish creature?

Was it really a premonition, or amI just so desperate to believe that they are still alive that I completely made a big deal over it?

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A/N Review again!


	47. Chapter 47

Disclaimer: I'M GETTING BACK MY INSPIRATION! THERE WILL FINALLY BE MORE THAN JUST BACK-AND-FORTH TALKING! GO ME! Anyway, don't own YYH and Katrina Kon is a fictional character.

And this is one of my finest chapters in this story, if I do say so myself. I think you will all like the humor, excuse the bragging. I'll only say this---I hope you haven't forgotten about the (see title)!

Also, this chapter has been revised, on account of the fact that it "wasn't really Hiei" so hope you like the very shlight change!

**Chapter 47: Return of the Rabid Clam**

_My Blunt Opinion_:

I don't think they believe me. In fact, I'm _sure_ that they don't. I told them about my dream, but I don't think they really took my word for it. For one thing, Kurama nodded at all of the wrong times, and when I asked him a question, like "What do you think about..." or something, he would answer with 'no'. And when I started on Genkai getting her butt kicked by a paddle that was actually Botan, he turned around and left.

The same held true for almost everyone else. The only ones with varied reactions were Mie and Hiei. This was how it went.

"Hiei, …………………………..so what do you think?"

"You should talk to Shizuru Kuwabara. She has visions too. She saw the Dark Tournament. But, do you really think that is at all plausible? Most premonitions stick to the fact, if you catch my drift."

_Thanks for being such a trusting friend!_

And as for Mie's reaction, well… "Um, I seriously think it's a bunch of crap, but if you think it's not, you should go to Shizuru Kuwabara. She can help you find your brain again."

_Another award for being encouraging. 'Bunch of crap' my butt! Where was she when the bus to Imaginaion took off?_

Anyway, that all is obviously is pointing me in the right direction, but Shizzy? You gotta be kidding.

So that is why I am regretfully calling her on the Commir. I have no one else to turn to. She responds, naturally, with a small _blip_ of the Commir, just because I was so hoping she wouldn't. Evil brown eyes stare at me. She holds a cigarette. She takes a long drag. Damn, does she _want_ lung cancer?

"Yeah?…Oh, it's you." She says, and wrinkles her nose as she sees me. It looks like she hasn't washed her brown hair for a while. I make the same face as her. Whenever I see her, I'll always remember that she was the one who threw me into Keiko. I don't care if her 'boyfriend' died! Sakyo was an evil loon who killed himself, and Shizzy only met him for about three seconds! But in a way, I owe her for my friendship with Keiko, but this still changes nothing. Also, Keiko said my power flash comfirmed to the gang that I was the one they needed. However, it makes no difference between Shizzy and I. She still tried to kill me, or at least hurt me enough to send me to a hospital. If my power, a blue flash, hadn't kicked in at the last second as a cushion of sorts, I would have fractured Keiko's ribcage! And probably her arm...leg...

I realize she's waiting and smoking out her ears as well as her mouth.

"Yeah, it's me." I say.

"Why are you calling me? Don't tie up my line! I'm expecting a call from my brother." She says bluntly. "How important is this?"

Weird. "Who, Kuwabara?"

"He has a name, moron. _Kazuma_."

Well well. I always thought Kuwabara was his regular name, but then, why would _she_ be called Shizuru Kuwabara, really? Dumb of me for never realizing it! "Okay then. Are you expecting a call from _Kazuma?"_

"Who else?" She asks with a bite of impatience in her voice.

Mie pops up out of nowhere to my right. "Who ya talking to? You're sounding kinda mean."

"Shizuru. This is us being nice to each other. Shoo." Mie stalks off angrily. "So, Shizzy," she bristles understandably. "Number one. Your brother has been captured and will be eaten soon by Sensu himself. Number two…"

"Kazuma got captured?" She sounds incredulous. I hate her…hate her voice, poisoned by alcohol…her unwashed hair…

"Yes, moron. Number two is the reason I called. I had a premonition of Genkai and Botan."

"Why? Aren't they with you guys?"

HATE HER, THE STUPID FREAK! "Look, to put it into your terms, they got lost and never got found. Understand?"

She speaks in what is undoubtedly a high imitation of my voice. "Firstly, stop insulting me. Secondly, you're on your own."

"Really? Why?"

"Cause you can't even stay civil long enough to be as calm as the brain of molasses."

OKAY, RANDOM! WHERE THE HELL DID _THAT_ COME FROM? IS SHE SERIOUSLY ALWAYS LIKE THIS? "FYI, molasses doesn't have a brain!"

"And neither do you."

"Oh really? Look who's talking." I say.

"You."

"No, you."

"You."

"You."

"You."

This has to end. "Look, can you just tell me if what I saw really happened or not? It's not hard, or at least, for most people."

She glares, baring her teeth. They very face of Satan on a crack high. "I dunno, it wasn't my vision. And you're not exactly telling me what you saw. You're too busy being a freaking asshole bitch."

Just as I'm about to say something, she switches off. I'm speechless.

And she thinks _I'm_ a bitch!

Kurama comes over out of nowhere, much like Mie. "What's she saying?"

"Nothing useful. She switched off before I could tell her."

"Ah, I see. Had a little fight?"

I glare at him.

He holds up his hands. "All right, all right, you're _not_ two years old after all. What's wrong?"

"Everything. I wish I was dead."

"Why?"

"Cause everything's wrong!"

"_What's_ wrong? Specifically?"

I glare. "My life."

He shakes his head at me, the very image of a disappointed parent. "Katrina...grow up." He walks away.

Can someone tell me why my life is a living hell?

And why my brother is playing Daddy? I already _have_ a daddy! He just couldn't care less about me! And _I'm_ supposed to rescue him! I HATE LIFE!

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It's just so tiring all of the time. With Kurama and Mie not talking to me, I am really quite stuck with no one but my own twisted painful emotions. I'm sick of this. No one is making any moves. It is night, and instead of sleeping, I am curled up in a big confused lump, thinking to myself.

I am silently kicking myself for not defending Kurama when he suggested we break in. Then, I might be out of this putrid air and at least into shelter, even if it _is_ the enemy's quarters. I am ready to die. As I doze off, my mind creates a white orb on one shoulder and a black orb on the other. This is my current state of mind. My brain is too tired even to hallucinate real human devil and angel.

_Why not?_ What is undoubtedly the devil orb whispers_. Why not just go to the tower myself?I have nothing to lose but my pathetic life, but my rewards…living father, clean spirit world, getting back home, seeing Mom again…endless possibilities. Why not?_

Angel: _But if I die, then everyone will be crushed, at least by Kurama's story. Didn't he say I was the only hope, and that I couldn't die no matter what? And what if it fails? Then who'll save Dad? The Spirit World will be completely annihilated!_

Devil: _Oh come on. I'm at least as powerful as Sensu._

Angel: _But am I? I'm only an upper B class...and even that I don't know for sure..._

Devil: I_ can win!_

Angel_: No…I can't._

Devil_: Yes, I can, how hard can it be? Not difficult at all._

I can't take it. The devil has won. Coming back to Earth, I slip my robe over my head tiredly, stand up, shake the crick out of my neck, and quietly slink away from the campsite. If no one else will care, then I will. I will not wait for everyone to come out of this depression. By then, my father will be dead. I'm already becoming morbid. I hate my dad, but not enough to want him dead! This is my flesh and blood in question here!

But who to take with me? I can't go alone!

Forget Kurama. He's probably still mad at me for snubbing him. And Mie, well, her moods and powers are so random and generally insignificant that she wouldn't provide much helpful support at all. This coupled with the fact that she's also probably still mad at me and generally a bitch as it is. Hiei, well, I don't want him along very much, with our tangled relationship and his unpredictable personality shifts; Jin's just out there and too spacey and he sees me as a romantic dolly, so forget it; and Touya's a jerk, so NO. I really don't have anyone after all. I knew I couldn't count on them all along. Somewhere deep down, I knew. I was just too stupid to realize it.

I slip away from the site, slightly nervous. My minor fear of the dark really doesn't pose much of a threat, but if I get scared, I go into panic real easy if it's night. It's very weird. The fog is much thinner up in the higher air, and you can tell that it's nighttime or day.

I walk past Hiei last, and watch him for a second. He's snoring particularly softly tonight, almost the opposite on the train (come to think about it, why has he been generally quiet these past few nights?), but that's the least of my worries. I'm about to get killed or at least die of fear of the dark, and I don't find either prospect very inviting. Lucky Hiei. Nothing on his mind except trying to hide an all-around bad attitude.

I walk out into the deserted street, holding the hood of my robe over my face, and move in the general direction of the big guy's fort. I still remember from last time. This is it. My moment of truth, if you will. All alone. No one to do it for me. I have to get Lahri, Dad, Kuwabara, and Yusuke while killing Sensu and all of his immensely powerful demon thugs. It's impossible. I'm not smart enough to pull it off, but I am dumb enough to try. I guess I really do have a streak of Yusuke inside after all. Not enough to become a Spirit Detective, though.

All alone…

"Where are you going?" Says a low voice, scaring me out of my hide.

I start to emit a high squeal, but horrifiedly clap a hand over my mouth. I recognize that pointy head…what was that I said about being alone?

"Hiei, what the hell are you doing here?" I ask angrily. That's why he was quiet, damn it! He's been keeping watch all these nights in case of this. Why didn't I see it before? He's never actually slept since he got here! _That's_ why he's been so depressed. _All_ of them! They aren't sleeping!

God, I am the biggest retard I know.

I think I can make out a smirk in the darkness. "Just wondering why you were running away in the dead of night."

"RUNNING AWAY? _Moi_? I, for your information, am about to kick some A-class demon butt. I was the only one who would."

"Fighting SENSU on your own? Pft. Seriously, why are you running away?" I hate the accusation in his voice.

I frown. "And what is so strange about me fighting Sensu?"

"He's just…well, fighting isn't your style. You do better in a group. Why didn't you ask Kurama or me? To help?"

"Kurama, well, me and him got a little pissed off at each other, and as for you, well, you are so moody that I think you'd kill me or I'd kill you."

The smirk fades quickly. "What are you talking about?"

I revel in his confusion. "Well, I just wanted to say that I really wanted to do this alone."

"No, no. I see why."

"See what?" Sweet confusion. It gives you such a high!

"I'm annoying."

"What?"

"I'm just a pain."

"What?"

"I'm just a pain! Unclog your ears!"

"...No you're not! Where did _that_ come from?"

"That is not what you just said?"

"No! Well, I did say that I wanted to do this alone."

"Before that."

"I said that you would probably kill me." I realize what I just said too late. Doesn't Hiei have that really strict honor code about never killing your teammates?

Uh-oh...

I see the flurry of his cloak, and grab it instinctively. "Hiei..."

"No, princess. Go fight him. I'm not stopping you."

"I'm sorry..." Hah. Yeah right. But I am good at puppy-dogging.

"No need. Why should you be sorry?"

"HIEI!"

"What?" He stops. That curt, cold tone. I hate it.

"Okay, look, I didn't mean that the way it sounded."

"Really? Then what did you mean?"

"I-I meant…" Dammit, lying and looking legitimate at the same time is soooo hard. Thank God it's dark. "I meant I feel as though it's my legacy. I didn't want to put you in danger or anything like that." I let the rest of the words tumble out in a rush. Okay, so that idea just came to me now, but it's better than making a new all powerful enemy. The real reason was that I thought he'd really just annoy me to all hell, and then get us captured. Exactly what I said before. Only, slightly more blunt and shallow.

The smirk is back. "Put _me_ in _danger._" It's a statement rather than a question, as if to prove how preposterous it is.

"Uh, yeah."

"I appreciate your concern _somewhat_, but I am afraid I really don't need looking after. Upper B class demons generally don't."

_Why _is he acting so arrogant? "I know, but you just act really rashly. You could get your soul taken, and I know it's happened before. Genkai told me that it was because you didn't listen to Kurama in the House of Evil Dimensions or whatever."

"The hag thinks she knows me."

"She knows you better than you think."

"Really? Like how?"

"Um, well, I shouldn't be telling you this, but I know she knows…" I start to whisper.

His eyes widen in stunned disbelief. "How the fuck did she find that out?"

"I dunno. You have any chats with her before?"

"_Never_. I try to put plenty of space between her and I always."

"I dunno then. Maybe Mie said something."

"Mie?" He looks confused. "I _never_ talk to that baloney brained idiot. I have seriously never met someone who shadowed me quite as much as her."

"C'mon, open your eyes! She's harboring a massive crush on you. She's probably done _research_ on you. Lots and lots of research. That's why she followed you."

"She is…oh yeah, she is. That time, when you were standing on the trash and---" I hear him cut off awkwardly. I say nothing.

Silence.

I say, "I notice you're talking to me again. You sorta clammed up before."

"I decided not to be so immature as to get upset over what you did that day."

"Wait. Hold it. What _I_ did?"

"Yes, you kissed me, right?"

"What?..._You_ kissed _me!_"

"I did not. That was how I found out you liked me."

"I DID NOT KISS YOU! You kissed me! I'm sure of it! I didn't know if I liked you back then, and that was how _I-I-I_ found out, not you!"

"Then _do_ you like me? That statement kind of implies that you do."

"I dunno. Do you like me?"

He avoids the question. "I think you like me, as you kissed me."

"I DID NOT KISS YOU! YOU pried open MY shell! I was just an innocent clam, minding my own business, when all of a sudden, you think it would be funny to just look at the inner me! How could you expect me to like you? I should have bitten your ear off, like all those painful years ago!"

"…What the hell are you _talking_ about? What oyster?"

"Clam, you retard, CLAM!"

"Um, Katrina..."

"Nothing. It all comes back to the beach one day, and a clam tried to kill me because I looked at it's little body. It's only now that I realized how wrong I was."

"Oh, because you found at that maybe I don't like to be kissed?"

"NO! YOU QUITE ENJOYED IT! YOU MUST HAVE, AS YOU INITIATED IT!"

"You're insane. How can you compare me to a _clam_, of all things? Did I try to kill you that day?"

"No! You just pried open my shell! That was very rude!"

"Jeez, all right, all right, I'll leave your shell alone. But I didn't pry it open that day, because I don't know where it is! Where is your shell, while we're on the subject?"

"I don't know! Apparently, it's on my face, because by touching it, you shattered it! Stupid Acid-Lips!"

"Where on your face?"

"Where do you think?"

"Your lips?"

"Someone is a real rocket scientist here. My God, you might even get into kindergarten one day! You get to _color between the lines!_" I say in mock excitement.

"Yup." He leans over across from me and kisses me again in that spot.

This time I shove him away in a fraction of a second, my face burning. He looks very indifferent. "What?" He asks, as though he's commenting on the weather.

Steam shoots out of my ears, blowing up my hair. "WHAT! _WHAT_! WHAT DO YOU THINK _YOU'RE_ DOING? YOU CAN'T JUST _DO_ THAT! WHY DID YOU DO THAT? _WHY ARE YOU SO FREAKING_ **_OUT_ _OF_ _CHARACTER_** _IN THIS FANFIC_?"

"Number one, I wanted to see what would happen. Number two, it is _so_ _unbelievably_ _fun_ to break people's shells, as you put it. And number three," he turns kind of red, "You're one of my greatest friends."

I am silent. "If you only like me as a best friend, you shouldn't do that!"

"Whatever. And will you keep your voice down? Oh, and number four, I wanted to get even."

What's he talking about, keep my voice down? Demons are supposed to yell! "_EVEN_? DID I HEAR RIGHT?"

"Yes, now we both kissed the other one, right? We're even."

"NO, YOU KISSED ME TWICE NOW!"

"No, you one, me one."

"NOOOOOOOO! YOU HAVE IT ALL WRONG!"

"You wish, ningen."

I clamp my hands over my mouth, and yell through them, even though he can't really understand me.

"YOU ARE SUCH A STUPID, SICK PIG..." I pause to get a reaction.

But...

Hiei only smiles, and it shuts me up. I can tell that I'm just wasting my time. Breaking his obstinacy is like trying to break through a brick wall...with a killer clam...shell...

I break it. "Well, bye. I'm going to die a very painful death in the castle now."

"Alone?"

"I guess. I don't suppose _liars_ like to risk their lives."

"They do now. I won't have you screw it all up."

"I know how to interpret your hidden meanings, now. They're useless." I smother a laugh. He is the weirdest person. "Hiei, really, just admit that you don't want me killed."

He shrugs haughtily. "Well, not yet, anyway. If you kiss me a third time, I'll do it myself."

"WHAT THE FUCK---YOU KISSED ME TWICE! YOU KISSED ME TWICE! YOU KISSED ME TWICE! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT? YOU, 2, ME, 0! GOT IT, PUNK? ZEROZEROZREOZEROZEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" And so it goes on. He ignores me, but doesn't leave. Andif I wasn't sopreoccupied with screaming at him, I would thank him otherwise.

And so we march up to the Palace of Certain and Utter Death, my mouth still going like a trumpet.

Hey, I'm doomed. No one's denying it.

But at least I'm doomed with a friend.

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A/N -This is a newly added kiss scene, once again, tried not to make it too sloppy, but don't expect too many more of these, I just do not excel at them. I actually added in the whole clam escapade because RebelWriter put it down as one of her favorite quotes, so I thought I couldn't just leave it there! Thank you RW! I never would have thought of adding it in again if you had not said something! And thank you soccerchic91588, RoseMaiden, Silent Storm 2000 (LOVE YOUR NAME), Black Wolf Jaganshi Lover, EHL,and anyone else who reviewed. I'm sorry to anyone who hates me for not doing reviewer thanks formally, but that just takes so much time. Maybe later. (yawns) Review! Anyhow, anyone I forgot, I am sorry!


	48. Chapter 48

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH. I only own Katrina Kon.

**Chapter 48: Getting In**

"Okay, Hiei, how do we get into the castle?" I ask urgently, still a little uncomfortable with him. I must admit, a little bit of planning on this episode wouldn't have killed me.

"I thought you had thought this all out!" He tells me with raised eyebrows.

"My thoughts exactly."

He smirks. "Well, I guess we'd better take Kurama's advice and cause a diversion. I can't believe you didn't take him."

"Oh, knowing him, they'll catch up sooner or later."

"Why didn't you take him?" He presses.

"Because he was mad! I didn't need a snooty angry smart ass coming along for the ride."

"Then why didn't you take me?"

"Hiei, stop it! Can we focus?"

"Just this question. Why?"

"Who cares why?"

"Why?" He asks again.

"I _told _you. _I_ wanted to do it on my own, okay? So what's the diversion? I'm quite eager to get out of this rat infested heap of junk." It's true. We are in the back of a dumpster overlooking the castle. I came here all ready to get in and we still are planning! We have been, for an hour! It must be three in the morning by now!

"Katrina, do you even know what a diversion is?"

"Of course! I just want to know how we do it!"

"Definition, please."

"Why? Don't you know it?"

"No, I'm just making sure."

He's starting to tick me off. "It's a distraction. I'm telling you, I know everything. I'm a whiz at English and Jap."

"Okay then, O Know-It-All-Of-English. What's an anesthesiologist?"

"What's a what?"

"An anesthesiologist."

"Anasi…anest…"

"Gesundheit."

I glare. "What does that mean? First anashiolojist and now geshundheight?"

"Haha. So she doesn't know everything. You even pronounced it wrong."

Damn, now I'll wonder about that forever! "What does it mean, then?"

"Gesundheit means…it means…damn, I used to know this…"

"You don't even know?"

"I used to."

"You are asking me the definition of something you don't even know?"

"Well…"

"Why are you like this? Are you on something?"

"Other than a heap of crud, no." He gestures to the stuff he's sitting on.

"Sheesh, how stupid are you? It means are you on a drug!"

"Like, crack? I tried it, but it tasted bad and my nose caught flame."

"You're not supposed to eat crack! You snort it!"

"I know. My nose caught fire, remember? But I initially thought that it was a whitish rock candy, which I love--"

"Forget I asked. What food did you eat last night?"

"Dried meat. Everyone ate dry meat. I _hate_ dry meat very much. It is beef-flavored cardboard."

"Anything on the cardboard?"

"Other than some bits of green leaves,some sort of spice,which Mie told me was parsley…"

"How'd you get parsley, of all things?"

"Mie gave it to me."

"Go Mie. She gets a TEN for romance.That was quite an unusual way to express her feelings. Give your love an herb and he'll fall for you. Why haven't I heard that before?"

"It actually made me happy, eating it. Kind of like the crack. Only that was a very mixed feeling. I felt happy, but my nose was burning, so that ruined it..."

"Uh, Hiei, is that why your nose is shaped like a dagger?"

He feels his nose. "It is not shaped like a dagger! I just said that the parsley gave me a - as humans put it - high."

"O…kay then. No more parsley for you. I was getting worried, like you had ingestedheroinweed or something."

He gives me a look like I just said I like to make out with my credit card. "Who the hell eats weeds?"

He's never going to get it. I can tell. I bite back my temper. "Oh well, what's done is done. Back to the diversion, since you are the one with the super-human speed, I think you should challenge the guards. I'll sneak in."

"No, come on. Remember that the guards can't ever move?"

"Yes. Unless someone tries to get into the inside! Don't you get it? That's the diversion! The whole point is for you to sneak in, or attempt to, and get into a violent scuffle with the guards. That way, I'll get in around, and when I'm through…well, I'll call you on the Commir when I'm through. Then you can come in also."

"Tch. You make it sound almost reasonable."

"Well, why wouldn't it be?"

"It just seems flaky. For one thing, we'll be separated."

"Well, you're strong, you can hold them off, right?" Just play with his pride and it's a done deal.

"I guess. But---"

"No buts! GO!"

He rolls his eyes grudgingly, and jumps out of the dumpster. I watch as he almost lazily saunters up to the steps and tries to get in, when he is stopped by a huge shape that must be a guard, and begins arguing furiously with him. I watch, because there has to be fighting before I can reveal myself.

To my utter stunned amazement, the guard nods his head, and admits Hiei through. _That wasn't supposed to happen!_

I few second later Hiei calls_ me._ I switch on my Commir, and I see a priceless sight. Hiei, in imitation of me, has arranged his black hair like mine, and is playing with it like a prep girl. There is a lot of light on his end, so I can tell.

"_Hiei, I'm in! Now's your time to kill those icky guards!"_ He mimics.

"...Shut up.How did you get in? What did you say?"

"_Hiei, I'm ready for you to kill them now! Now! Now! NOW!"_

"SHUT UP!"

Finally bored, he rearranges his hair back to normal, and turns all business-like. "See, that was the but I was saying before you cut me off. I would have said that I have some friends here; you know I used to be a criminal, and that guard happened to be an ex-friend. He was still friendly though."

"You used to be a criminal?" A criminal kissed me? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

"Yes, of course, as did Kurama."

"KURAMA KISSED YOU?" I'm dying. Dying dying dying...how could that have happened? Is Hiei...(gasp) a bi?

"NO, you baka ningen! God! I meant that he was a criminal, like me! But he is a bisexual."

I pause for a second. "WHAT?" Oh, so I can't take one without the other, eh?

"Yes, sadly."

OMG. I can't deal with this. I instead revert to the other shocker.

"Oh wait. He told me he was a thief before he became human. I remember now. But is Suuichi a criminal? You know, my red haired brother?"

"Not that I know of. He's the nicest guy I know, even if he is a bi."

"Shut up. You must be lying."

"Nope."

Whatever. I refuse to believe him."Why did you reform?"

"From a criminal, or from a bi?"

"But you're _not_ a bi, right?" I ask in a strangled voice.

"Katrina, please. I'm just cracking your shell, and your mind while I'm at it." He pauses and thinks for a moment. "Hm. I dunno what did it. Maybe I am not really reformed. As a matter of fact, look at that shiny thing over there…"

"HIEI!" I yell, but he has switched off. Damn! I'm pretty sure he's just breaking my shell, but what if he's not?

Okay, I guess it's time for me to pull a Hiei. I jump out like him, but then stop. Hiei said he only got through because he knew the guy personally, so I won't have the same good fortune. I guess my best bet is to act like I'm a friend of Hiei's. Which I am, in some twisted, weird way.

I swagger up like Hiei, and attempt to go through too. The same guard stops me.

"What is your business, O hooded stranger?"

"My business is…my business is…is…I'm a friend of Hiei's."

"Your business is telling me you are a friend of Hiei's?" He asks. This demon is surprisingly clean, and not oozing any weird pus, and he's well spoken, and a complexion like mine. He could be human if not for his stretched-out head and four arms and huge body.Undoubtedly a failure demon.

"No, that is not my business, well, that is, I am telling you I am Hiei's friend because I came late and was supposed to come with him."

"Why'd you come late?"

"Why is it your business?" I ask, annoyed.

"It's my business to protect Sensu."

"Like he needs protecting. He has too much business with his guards."

"Yeah, yeah. Well, take off your robe; I need to check it for "confiscate items." So, lemme check your pockets. This is my business, demon, move it!"

"Why this new security measure in your _business_?" Why does he like that word so much?

"Because some human girl rescued that human decoy and came out alive, and Sensu thinks it was due to new tech. So empty them out and let's see."

I'm glad he forgot about taking it off completely, though this isn't much of an improvement. I'm going to have to show him my Commir, and I really will need that later. Why do I always get into these conversations with guards? "Well, erm, that's the thing, well, gee, I really…it is against the custom of my people to search others."

"NO search, NO entry."

Damn. What do I do now? Where is Hiei?

PLEASE TELL ME THAT I TAKE PRIORITY OVER A SHINY THING!

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A/N Short, but too bad. It makes up for the length of the last chapter. What was that last one, 7 pages?R and R!


	49. Chapter 49

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, I only claim onto the fictional character Katrina Kon and the storyline. And thanks to all of my signed reviewers, like RebelWriter, Weird0, smiles4100, RoseMaiden, so on, and Myself. Hehe.

**Chapter 49: Alice in Wonderland**

Why do guards ALWAYS freaking hate me? "I told you, I'm a friend of Hiei's! You have to let me in if we're to be friends!"

"Number 1, we aren't friends. Number 2, Hiei never mentioned you."

"I'm a recent friend, all right?"

"What sort of friend?"

All right, now we're getting somewhere! "Simply a close friend. I am a very rich upperclassman dude."

"How close?"

"What's it to you what type of friend?"

"Ah, I see. You're _that_ type."

"I'm what type?"

"Aw, c'mon, you must know what type you are."

"What type?" I ask again, totally nonplussed.

"You're his girlfriend type, aren't you?"

Thank god he can't see my blush under this hood. "No, I'm a different type." I say quickly, in my best of-course-not voice.

"Really? You seem like his type. You hide your face and you don't answer straight questions. If you are, you really have found yourself a soul mate."

"I'll definitely look into that." I mutter under my breath. This is getting a little personal. Why does it matter anyway? "Okay, first of all, I do not plan on marrying anyone, particularly not Hiei. And secondly, are we going to chat, or are going to grant me passage?"

He hardens again. "I just have no proof that you are who you're telling me you are, so, sorry, kiddy, but you gotta wait for your friend to come back and show me." He grins meanly, thoroughly enjoying himself. Glad at least he's amused.

On a sudden impulse, I shout "HEY LOOK, IT'S SPIDERMAN!" I point behind him.

The cop rolls his eyes. "Nice try."

I try again. "AHHHH! YUSUKE URAMESHI IS ABOUT TO KICK YOUR BUTT!"

"Heard that one, too. And he's in jail."

One more time. "Then what _is_ that dark shape I see?"

He sighs. "I've been telling people all week, that's the newtorture chamber." He spins around and points. "See, that's the door with the skeleton of a demon on his last few minutes of his life..."

And I thought he was smart, too. Behind him, I start to edge away towards the now unguarded door.

"...Specially ordered by Sensu himself. He has very fine taste in door ornaments. Now, I have no idea how you picked Yusuke out of that picture, he looks kind of human...and that guy is distinctly purple..."

Another, smarter guard sees me and runs towards me. Using this moment, I charge inside for all I am worth. Behind me, I hear an anguished cry of "WHAT--" And another demon yells at him. Seconds later, feet pound the floor after me.

I run into the bright lobby, cast a quick glance for Hiei, and find none, nor do I see a shiny thing that distracted him. Hoping to find cover, I charge down the hallway where I went to the slaughter room to rescue Lahri, all those ice ages ago. I can't risk going in there, with all of the bounty hunters and all. Even with my hood, the guards will surely search there and find me. Instead, I duck inside a dark room where the door is slightly ajar. I hold my breath as I go inside, in case I walked into a place with twenty noxious gases just waiting to kill me.

To my relief, when I feel around with my fingertips, I can tell it's a broom closet, only with many strange bottled liquids and pills instead of floor detergent. Oh well. Better a chemical closet than getting caught.

I shut the door hurriedly, and listen carefully for any movement outside. I hear none, and that's a real relief. After several minutes of intense waiting and breath-holding, and the chemical closet is now getting really hot, I open the door cautiously, and I see light. Perfect. I don't see any shadows. And then...

"LOOK! IN THE CLOSET!"

Shit. I try to shut the door, but a pale arm is thrust there in time.I soon peek right into the face of the guard I tricked. I take in his ugliness. The overlarge head looks a lot scarier all of a sudden, and the only thing that makes him look alive are his eyes. Currently gleaming with triumph.

"Hellllllo there."

I screech and try to shut it again to snap his arm,but another arm blocks the way. Damn it! I try to force the door, but the hairy arm, which is very spongy, is only minorly squeezed. Major damn it!

Out of options. I seize one of the nearest potions, a fizzing purple beverage, and drink it in a hurry. One of these has to help! Maybe it can give me laser vision! Or--or--

The next moment, time seems to stop for a second, in which I feel a rapid shrinking sensation. Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. This can't be what I think it is!

Inches from my face, the appendage suddenly raises very quickly. Oh boy. Now what's going on? The door is shut far enough so that I can't really see. But there are lots of ledges speeding past me...

Even more strangely, the tentacle is taking more swipes at me, still missing. Maybe the potion gave me a shield or something. But why is the guard so much bigger?

If this is what I think it is...

Another guard runs onto the scene. I charge under a large ledge. No way will I be able to fend off two of them. "C'mon, Maurice! Haven't you found her?"

"She was right here!" He says furiously. "She took a draught from a bottle, and disappeared!"

_Wait, I what?_

"Sure, sure. Maurice, I thought we agreed that we didn't want to make Uncle Tim put you in the white room again, am I right? Now what do you do? You screw up again! You're going to the ward again, for a mind straining session. We're doing _multiplacation tables. _That'll be a nice punishment. Imbecile! Now what do we do, huh? My God, consider doing math an easy punishment, too..."

Maurice tries to persuade his pal some more, but to no avail. Muttering darkly about math, Maurice casts a dark look as he follows his co-worker out.

I simply can't believe it. I've just come to grips with what I've just done. I am as big as that stupid toy twit Polly Pocket. I've shrunk down to the size of my hand, at least judging by the bottom of the shelf, which I originally thought was a ledge. Stupid! Why did I drink that juice? How'm I ever going to get changed back? I feel like stupid little Alice in Wonderland; the little moron drank or ate from anything that asked her to! What if it had been arsenic? Would she have eaten _that_? But of course, that was her stupid little dream, whereas I'm in real life, which makes it even more humiliating. You are _supposed_ to do stupid things in dreams! Not in real life where demons run amok!

Oh wait. There's that bottle I dropped, lying in the middle of the stream of light from the door. I walk over. I can make out some vague shapes. Apparently, Japanese demons do write in Japanese.The label reads:

USE: TO BE ABLE TO SHRINK ONE. THE MORE INGESTED, THE MORE SHRINKING WILL OCCUR.

Then, in fine print, reads "Side effects may include itching on the left ear, oozing on the wrists, bleeding out of the right foot, reduction of the intestines, swollen tentacles, overlarge big toes, and possible permanent paralysis of the left nostril."

Oh my God. What have I done?

I look up at all the many rows of potions above me. I have to find a growth potion. I have to think logically. If there was a shrink potion, there must be a reverse.

I climb up the shelf, on the ornamental metal holes that line it. It really looks easy, so I try it, figuring what do I have to lose anyway? Idid _not_come hereto be rodent food!

But it really is harder than it looks. Trying to find footholds in a straight line can be rather challenging, and while I'm somewhat athletic, I never got into rock-climbing, nor was I very good at it either. This time it's mandatory, so I guess I will have to learn to like it if I ever want to get back to normal size again.

OW! I twisted my damn elbow! Fine time to! It's going to swell even more with that stupid side effect...

OW! Skinned my wrists. Going to start oozing any second...

OW! OW OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!

MY TOE! THAT WILL PROBABLY ENLARGE OUT OF BOTH SWELLING AND THAT STUPID SERUM!

Oh my God. If my left nostril starts to freeze up, I'll throw myself down to my death.

Here we are! I have finally ascended to the next level of shelf. The lowest level of potions! I guess I have to read each and every label.

I stare at the big writing on the first one.

Poison. No.

Bad breath. No.

Disease. No.

God, how long will this take? Rotting. Definitely not.

I go through several hundred more, it seems, until finally, on the very top shelf, some sort of strange gibberish, but I recognize the word RAISE.

This is what I need...I hope! I reach for it, and then, of course, someone opens the door.

"Where is that growing pill? Maurice shrunk himself again, the moron! Man, anything to get out of multiplacation! Let me see, let me see…yes there it is!" It's that same demon who carried Maurice out to the math ward, as he called it. "How in earth..._why_ on _earth_ would make him want to _do_ something like that? _Why_ did he smuggle in more pills? Ugh, we've _got_ to get him replaced, my nephew or not..."

He grabs my bottle. The one I'm clinging to. He does not seem to notice me. He just holds it by the lid for his friend. I hold onto the bottom for my life.

As we start to move, I dangle over the ground, helpless, trying not to fall. Could this day possibly get any worse?

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A/N Thanks for reviewing everyone! Like this change of tactics? And this is just the beginning...cuz we still got 15 more chapters! Review them all or die! Have a good life until then!


	50. Chapter 50

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH, but I do own the storyline.

Fireof Death: What did you mean by number 45 in your last review?

**Chapter 50: Let's Just Say I Want To Die**

Damn, now my grip is weakening! Could they make these bottles any more slick? And why isn't the guard noticing me? He's just walking around nonchalantly, seemingly without a care in the world, except for restoring his nephew. He just keeps muttering about how stupid Maurice is for shrinking himself and something about how two plus two isn't that bad of a torture. And if I wasn't so afraid of falling off, I might agree. I'd actually consider it a reward.

The rocking motions are starting to take their toll on me, and my biceps are starting to swell. It's really hurting me all over. Without Genkai's training, I'd never have even held on this long.

Oh damn. Now he's _skipping_. I am literally swinging from side to side, and my grip lessens even more. I think the only thing keeping me up is just all the sweat I'm shedding, which is literally sticking me to the glass polish. And I should be sweating. The fall below would kill me, if not undead me.

Ahhhh! I slipped a few more inches that time. I stare down, once again getting slightly dizzy. It's only about a three-foot drop, but in my present state, I'd be dead if I should decide to fall. It's my equivalent of eighteen stories.

My captor unlocks a door, to find a three foot tall Maurice sitting there, looking forlorn, within a soft looking white room. An unfinished fifth grade multiplacation worksheet sits in front of him. It has only one small window high on the wall, next to the door, looking out into the hallway that I was just in. It looks like an insane cell.

"Tim, I didn't mean to! PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME SOLVE TWO TIMES THREE! I'LL DO ANYTHING!"

"Just take the potion!" Growls Tim. "Or better yet, for your punishment, eat the whole bottle! AND do the math afterwards!"

He must be joking. Eating the whole bottle, with me on it. I can't decide which is worse, dying or being a Polly the rest of my life.

I think I'll go with my life, oddly. Even if Hiei will have a lifetime of "now who's tiny" jokes. I think I can handle it.

Tim shakes the bottle near Maurice, tempting him to eat it – and me – whole. I know I have to jump off, but that would probably kill me.

Yet if I do not jump, I will definitely die, crushed by Maurice's disgusting, rotten teeth in that huge mouth.

One thing for it.

I jump.

All I feel is the giant terrifying yet exhilarating feeling of flight; watching the demons above growing smaller and smaller…and the ground growing closer and closer...

I shut my eyes, and hit hard, flat on my back. Ow. That really hurt. The world spins wildly as I sit up, rubbing my head gingerly. Man, am I lucky I didn't die or what? Must be the panther section of my DNA.

Come to think of it, why didn't I just transform before I made impact? Stupid! Cats always land on their feet, right? Idiot! But then they might have noticed me, because it all worked out, so who cares?

Remembering, I look around suddenly to see if anyone is there anymore. No one. I can smell that they were definitely here a little while ago, but they certainly aren't now. I should feel relieved, but I am not. I must have been out for longer than I thought. I need to grow up, literally! But how? The iron black door is shut tight! How could I have let this happen? Why didn't I JUST GET UP?

I see the remains of a glass bottle near me. Maurice probably dropped this part of it when he ate it. I pick up a shard with a sinking feeling of bitter disappointment in my stomach. If I had been but a moment quicker when I was in that storeroom…I could have grown up, killed Agent Tim, and set out to find Hiei and Dad and Lahri!

But then, I would have been caught at normal size all over again, so maybe it was for the better. Knowing me, I would have drunk another medicine and this time killed myself.

Or permanently frozen my left nostril. The horror.

I don't know anymore. I have to redraw myself up, then I have to find Hiei, and then I still have to rescue Dad and Lahri.

It never occurred to my stupid little cranium that I might not have thought this out. Running away was a stupid idea, taking Hiei even more so. Most likely Hiei was caught, trying to steal that "shiny thing" he described to me through Commir. Now he's probably imprisoned along with Yusuke and Kuwabara, and I'm as good as, while Botan and Genkai are lost, the gang's probably worried, and I just realized the door to outside's locked. I couldn't evenopen it if it wasn't. It'd take me a year or more. This white room is huge. To. Me.

I go to the math worksheet, and solve all the problems out of boredom. Then, I sit back on my butt again and wait for inspiration.

Mom always told me that I needed to look at the bright side, but this time I can safely say that there is none. I'm in a total stalemate.

Out of frustration, I chuck the glass piece at the door, where it shatters upon impact. The breaking sound makes me feel better, and I flick another at the door, where it breaks as well.

Sitting down, I throw another at the door, and another, and another. Finally, I get bored and my aim starts to fail. On my 5th try, I accidentally hit padded wall instead of hard metal door.

I close my eyes expectantly, waiting for the tinkle of breaking glass, but oddly, there is none. I open my eyes hesitantly.

There it is. Shining, stuck in the wall, directly below the window.

A bubble of hope forms in my mind. I run over to it, feeling it, pressing down on it, testing my weight on it.

Yet, the padding is so thick is still holds.

I grin. There's my bright side. I have captured the queen. This chess game is still on.

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I think I have enough shards now. All with razor sharp edges, that could really hurt if stabbed with. Which, conveniently, is exactly what I've been making. I break the few shards I had in half with a karate chop technique, courtesy of Genkai, so now I have 20 where I originally had but 10.

Well, here goes nothing.

I walk over to where the original shard held, and step up on it. As like before it holds perfectly. My feet fit on it with room to spare.

Crouching down, I place one of my blades into the wall for a foothold, and another for a nice handhold. I step up onto the footrest, jump slightly, and grab my handhold. There. I've increased by about an inch.

It's slow work. As in S-L-O-W. On occasion I'll slip, which naturally makes it harder. Once, a hold broke because it was too small, and I was left dangling by my handhold, and it takes me a while to regain my uneven footing. And as I get higher and higher up, the more vital it is not to look down.

And we're talking about me; I am never afraid of heights. Never. But looking down my equivalent of a 30-story building, it's enough to make anyone nauseous.

Ah, almost there now! I even have extra shards too! I just need a few more footholds…

There, I have gotten my elbows up. Now I just need to kick up...I push up from the last handhold...

There! I'm on the windowsill! I almost cheer, though that would have ruined everything. Even the genius Touya or Kurama wouldn't have thought of it! Though the windowsill is only about one inch wide and 5 inches long, it's perfect for me or anyone else my size. Just like a cozy little park bench perched directly above Niagara Falls. PERFECT.

I get ready to throw away my extra shards, which ahve caked on my hands, but on second thought...maybe they can help.Doesn't he use his Shards of Winter as his most lethal attack? How are glass shards that much different?

I put them in my pocket. They couldn't hurt, given my current situation.

I look at the edge of the window. It's locked, but not the kind with a keyhole like the door. This type I know how to open because it is the mirror image of the windows in my boarding school. To lock them, you simply just turn these little leversto theright. To unlock them, you turn them to the left. Simple.

But if I remember correctly, they are murder to flip for a person of normal size, let alone me.

But what do I have to lose?

I go over to the nearest of the two locks, and tug viciously to the left. Nothing happens. Several more fruitless tries.

Ugh. I hate wasting power on this. I call on my rage of Hiei leaving me behind, and transform quickly.

It occurs to me how odd it would look if someone were to walk by. A Polly Pocket living panther, trying to undo a lock. The panther is also wearing a Jun Boarding School Uniform. Also, the skirt looks like a cheerleader's. I hate miniskirts.

DAMN THESE TANGENTS! WHY CAN'T I FOCUS TODAY?

My claws make poor substitutes for hands, but all the same, their power makes me drag both locks easily open within two tries. Then I heave out with my back on the window, pushing it out…out…out… why isn't it moving?

I try again, feeling sweaty, and it gives way so suddenly that I nearly fall out. I hear a small creak, but that's it – other than that the hall is deserted. Perfect.

I demorph and admire my hands again before calling myself back to reality. How do I get down? My remaining 3 shards won't do me much good on a hard wall, so I am faced with jumping again. I should call it Suicide Leap or something…so fun to tell my grandchildren all about Suicide Leap…

ButIF I ever do get grandkids, I'll never be able to tell them about it. It will be hard, if I escape out of here alive. I mean, sure I could tell my mom, (not like she'd believe me anyway), but as for anyone else, they'd think I was losing my mind. I'll save the world, and not be able to tell anyone about it. That will be hard, like all of my work will be for naught.

But I guess that's how Yusuke and the others feel. They deal with it, so I must also.

Of course, I won't have to worry about it anyway, at least, looking at the drop of death below, since I'm so gonna get killed.

My god, I didn't even think to bring a parachute. Dropping 5 feet…that's harsh for someone three inches tall. I check my pockets, for any ideas at all.

The first thing I feel is, well, apparently I didn't throw all of those radishes into Beauty's wound back in January...heheh... and I also feel the glass shards I've been saving, as well as a pretty buckeye I found on the sidewalk. There's a also a very very very _very_ old piece of chewing gum, that's kind of lodged in my pockets, as well as a long piece of string. I guess I'm lucky that for some reason my clothes and everything in them shrunk with me. Otherwise I probably would have been crushed by my buckeye and be running away naked. I guess that was just because I spilled some of the juice,in my haste to drink it, allover my clothes…wait…

I take out the shards of the old medicine bottle, since maybe traces of the pill can be found on the shards. Maybe I can make me grow a little.

True, I do see traces of blue powder, but not nearly enough for me to get normal again. I'll need a whole draught from the liquid stuff.

But what if I don't use the power for me? What about my buckeye?

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I descend at the bottom of the wall, finally on flat solid ground that isn't only 5 inches across. Kurama would have been proud of me for my plan. I enlarged my buckeye and my piece of string significantly, then tied them together, securing them with my chewing gum. I tied the other end around the right lock, and then coiled most of it up.

Then I sat on the buckeye and shoved myself off the edge. The weight of the buckeye carried me down easily, and the string caught me before I hit the ground, so I could just jump off the rest of the way. I admit, it was mostly chance that I stopped before hitting the ground, but Kurama himself couldn't have done it. Besides, it took a _bit_ of talent, right?

Because I'm feeling silly and hyper-confident, I salute my machine. I picked up that buckeye because of its looks, not so it could save my life, but I guess it really did. Hurray for rock collecting!

Now for that chemical closet…

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A/N Well, I hadn't planned on making this separate from chapter 49, but figured I might as well. Review! And I want everyone to read RebelWriter. Her Inu-Yasha story is killer good, and I'd like to know I'm associated with her. She's been writing a lot longer than me, and it really shows. Keep up the good work RebelWriter! And also, her story is on hold, but she might post more if you all review her and admit that she's a better author than you!

Also, read RoseMaiden. She has good stories too, especially her story Lives. She writes a lot of good old fluff combined with action and adventure. It's all very interesting. Also, she is rewriting LIFE so that it makes more sense and is easier to follow. Her and me is proofreading very much so! Any of you who have read it should go through it again. I think you'll notice a marked improvement.

R&R!


	51. Chapter 51

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH, only the storyline.

**Chapter 51: Bang-o, Change-o**

I run quickly, keeping to the shadows the walls create. Man, things are actually looking up! I might even say I'm having fun.

And I don't even know why. There's really nothing funny about my situation.

COOL!

Oh well. I guess I'm perked because I actually got out of my predicament using BRAINS! And also, my size makes me almost undetectable. Though it was a stroke of luck that the demons didn't notice me against that white floor.

I hope that that closet had more than one bottle of the growth juice. Otherwise I might as well head home in shame, and try to explain to Mom why I have gone through such a rapid change. I think the result would really be very funny.

She'd probably make me live with my local rats.

Heheheheeee. Wait, what's that noise up ahead?

Okay, now which way is that closet? I've reached an unfriendly looking black, dusty intersection with tons of demons pushing carts on tracks. The very image of an out-of-ground coal mine. But instead of coal, the mines hold what looks to be guts. Intestines. They were probably rapidly reducted and had to amputated by demon doctors because the patient did what I did.

My nostril is already freezing up, damn it! Now I won't even be able toenter the Nose-Wiggling Contest! AND my right foot is bleeding!

I narrowly dodge a huge hairy foot and glance around worriedly. I certainly didn't come this way before. But how can I get back to any chemical closet when I'm in this mess?

Okay, okay. Calm down. Think. Where didI come from?

Let's see, I made a quick left in the lobby, where I got shrunk in the chemical closet, and then the guard caught me and carried me out, went to a right, then a left, then another right…then entered the mental room…

Which means I've gone in the exact opposite direction.

Damn!

How could this have happened? Why didn't I stop to consider which way to go before setting out? My god, even for me, I need to think more. One day, lack of brains _will_ kill me. And I was just so impressed with my intelligence, too. Oh, irony.

But what can I do? If I go all the way back the way I came, I'd really kill my practical schedule. But I'll probably get run over here anyway, or at least stepped on. Damn, I HATE BEING SHORT!

Excuse me, did I say short? I meant midget-ized. Miniscule. Insignificant. Minimini.

Guess I know which way I'm going then.

I turn around and a bell rings. An intercom speaks: ALL STAFF REPORT FOR DUTY. ALL STAFF REPORT FOR DUTY.

What was that supposed to mean? Report to duty where?

_I'm about to find out_, I think with a groan, as I hear the thumping of hundreds of feet headed my way.

I jump up in my slowed reflexes, and fling myself with all of my strength to the side of the room. Less chance of me getting trampled there. I run to a nearby cart that's contents are covered and hide there.

I watch from under the cloth as thousands of a rainbow legion of demons charge through, and they immediately make a mad dash and grab one of the unoccupied carts behind the crowd. I see a demon step on right where I was. I think one of them saw me move in the shadow, but was too busy getting a cart. Once they are all in position, they start to run like hell, until no cart is left without a handler. A demon runs for my cart too. He apparently forgot it. Idiot. I jump out of the other side, accidentally banging my head on the cold steel, but as soon as I get off, the demon follows the others that were prepared. He kicks up a lot of dust onto me.

Well, I'm not any different, other than dirty. That was over really quick. I didn't even have to dodge or fight anyone.

Not that I'm complaining. I run back the way I came, trying to remember directions.

I don't get that far.

I run like all hell, but I trip over something like a hollow iridescent log. Glaring at it, I kick it, until I realize it is a medicine bottle. It rolls away. On it are the words GROWTH SERUM.

You must be kidding. That must be some sick joke. No way.

I can't believe it! God must not hate me after all! This is it! My ticket to eternal happiness. I'm really going to return to normal size! Time to say good bye to Polly forever!

But wait…maybe that isn't a good thing. I'll definitely stand out more at that size, and I need stealth desperately.

And isn't it a little weird that I suddenly find a bottle that is exactly what I need, and that I didn't see it here before? And wasn't the drink purple, not blue? And the label was definitely different...

This is a trap.

I feel its presence a scant second before I feel the whooshing movement behind me.

Morphing quickly, I jump out of the way. Whatever it is slashes again, very viciously. That's one swordsman.

But…I've seen that technique before…

Oh...

I dodge again, and again, repeatedly, trying to dodge against whatever it is that wants my life. I never get a good look at it, though. I only see flashes of green.

Finally, after several more dodges, it stops.

I turn my head and see the creature of nightmares. Worse than Genkai's brain defenses.

A small green thing with eyes all over its body, with parted blue-black hair. It is also holding Hiei's sword. I think the model is a sarayaku or something. Hiei used it occasionally. He used his other katana with me. How'd he get the sarayaku from Hiei? If it even is Hiei's.

The thing yanks off its white bandana, that is the twin of Hiei's. A crystal-blue Jagan glows.

No one else has a Jagan that menacing.

"Hiei," I whisper. "What happened to you?"

The once semi-kind eyes are filled with coldness and hate. "Don't speak to me, ningen."

That's old Hiei. Not the new one. "Hiei, what...?"

"I've reawoken. Now, I've relearned all I used to know."

"What did you used to know?" I ask, not really wanting to know.

"The true worthlessness of those who infest the living realm. Creatures like you. I was such a fool to let them cloud my Jagan."

"Hiei, you must be kidding." I almost feel like laughing.

"All right, it was a joke." He remorphs into his human form.

"Hiei!" I yell, trying tosound happy.

I start to walk toward him, in human form, but then I stop, and adopt a fighting stance. "Grow up." I hiss. Hiei glares.

"Do you honestly think I'm that stupid?" I ask, highly offended. I'm not a Kurama, but I'm not exactly a Kuwabara either.

Hiei smirks, remorphs, draws his sarayaku, and runs for me.

I was somewhat prepared for this, because somewhere a nasty little part of my brain was asking whether he really meant it. I guess not. He must be under mind control. At least, that's what I hope. If he's acting of his own free will, there won't be much I can do. But I don't think Hiei would turn like that. He's an awful brat, sure, but not a traitor.

There is a speedy whistling noise, I double over as he gets me in the gut. I hate being short. For some reason, he isn't slashing hard at all. I tried to jump back to avoid it, but I just have no power at 3 inches height. The only reason he didn't slice me in half was because I was flying backwards anyway, but there as more. it looked like he only hit me with the dull edge of his sword.

I start morphing again, looking at Hiei towering above. I never thought I'd be smaller than him. The world is truly ending. I peel my hands away from my sides and notice they are red with my blood. Dull blade or not, he certainly is not kidding.

I lunge forward. Oddly, Hiei doesn't make any move to dodge. He just stands there, and I seize my opportunity. I land a huge scratch on his leg. It starts to bleed. Man, that's big.

Well, at least it's large from my point of view. Key phrase: _my_ point of view.

I look him up and down, hating the laughter filling his face. He mutters something about didn't hurt a bit, and lunges again. I don't miss it by much because I'm in pain. I didn't know Hiei was such a spectacular fighter. I mean, I knew that he was an expert samurai, but this is a little extreme even for him. And he hasn't even got to the Dark Dragon Flame Thingamajigger!

"Hiei, I'm calling you back for the last time. Don't make me fight you!"

"I don't need to negotiate with you."

I race towards him again, and use every kind of martial art I can in my panther body. I land a few blows in his calfs.

Put it this way. It's not working.

But why? Even at this size, the force of my blows should at least trip him. But nothing! I've fought against enough demons to know that bit of physics.

But Hiei obviously isn't one of those mediocre demons. I knew how strong he was, or said he was, but fighting against him really cements it into my thick cranium. Is he sure he's only an Upper B Class?

Without even using his sword, he bats me out of the way like a rag doll with a green hand.

I hit the wall powerfully, and immediately counter-attack. I go back to my pointless game of whacking and scratching, wearing down his stamina little by little. But my stamina is getting worn down a lot faster.

Without fair warning, he grabs my scruff (that's right, so what if I still have a scruff?) and picks me up so I am eye-level with him. Knowing it's useless; I stop lashing and glare right back. If this is the end...

"You know, ningen, you could be one of us, being half demon as well. Your powers and skills are flawless, yet you cannot exercise them at this size. I can give you the real growth serum." As if to prove it, he pulls out of his pocket a real medicine. It is purple."All you need is to join us."

"And why would I do that? The whole lot of you are bent on killing and forging a path between the demon and the human world. That would mean the end of the human world."

"Exactly. Humans are pests. The sooner you accept that, the happier you will be."

"You moron, Hiei. You're giving in so easily! You know which side you are on, right?"

One of his eyes twitches. "I know the truth now. A man can only depend on himself and his instinct to kill humans."

"Hiei, we're a team, remember? We _work together._"

His mouth tightens. "I never worked with you. I was brainwashed by you. I thought I liked you. You were always nice, for a ningen. That's what I can't forgive. You, loving the human scum, while you should be fighting as a demon. It disgusts me. We are not meant to 'work together.' It was not meant to be."

"You disgust me, jerk. I can't belive you fooled me! Why didn't I see who you really were? A selfish, conniving bastard!"

_How could you? _I hiss in my head.

I build up a bubble slowly.

_For a while you made me believe you!_

I turn hot, and he drops me. I roll toward the wall.

_Stupid…why didn't I see right through him?_

I roll toward the wall.

_He'll see. Oh, he'll see how wrong he is. _

I reach the wall. I allow my bubble to explode outwards so that it is about a foot in diameter.

As soon as I hit, I bounce back with the force of a rocket launcher. I did that to spite Genkai every now and then in lessons.

Out of surprise, he stands stock-still. I can't aim at this breakneck speed, so instead of hitting his head, I smack him really, really, really, really hard in the kidneys. His eyes widen slightly, and he inhales sharply.

I fall backwards, and when I hit, I bounce back up againby accident so that I am eye-level with him. As he sees me, he smiles, and keels right over backwards in a faint. Perfect.

No. Not perfect. Something's wrong here. There's no way only that knocked him out. I was prepared for a long fight. That was just getting hit hard with a soccer ball! A human could have easily withstood that!

I touch his scaly skin and wince. Yes, he's cold. Not dead, but unconscious.I look at his stomach area.

Not even a bruise.

If not me, than what really caused this?

But I hate him. Hate the way he's just laying there. Hate how he made me think that he was on our side. He was just waiting for his chance to reclaim his old ways, the bastard.

I astro-project, while leaving my slightly wounded body in that bubble. I'm gonna see what really knocked him out.

I forgot to demorph, cuz I can see clear through my paws, and can see my kitty body. Oh well. This will work just fine.

Before Hiei regains consciousness, I dive into his head.

It's much different in here than in Genkai's, which was the only other one I have ever tried. While hers had some light, kind of like the type given off by torches, she still wasn't completely dark as this one is.

I reach into my power and emit a blue light from my body, so bright that it takes me a while to get used to it myself. I move down a passage.

I'm planning on finding his memories. Maybe they will tell me something about his total change of attitude. I guess he met up with Sensu, who totally poisoned him. But, it certainly sounded like he was acting of his own free will. He still knew who I was and all. I hate him.

I don't have to look long, for there right before me I see many television screens, illuminating the depressing blackness. I inspect them one by one.

I see a small child, taking a beating from someone I recognize to be an ice demon, soundlessly. He isn't even screaming. Why wasn't Hiei screaming?

I can't watch anymore. I move onto the next one, and the next…all seem to feature a very tortured fire demon. Even though I have heard this story before, it's much more painful just watching it for real.

Then I see Hiei thrown before an ice priestess. She says many harsh words to Hiei, and takes off an amulet and throws it down to him. He picks it up with trembling hands. It's that blue oceanlike gem he showed me so long ago.

Then her voice softens. "Hiei…you don't belong here, and you never will,no matter what you try to do to change that. You will never fit in anywhere. We will end your painful,pathetic existence."

Two guards seize him from behind. They walk the screaming boy to a…cliff? They let him look down for a moment, then throw him off just as a pretty woman, with Hiei's black hair, makes a final grab for her son. A small girl child, who must be Yukina with that aqua hair, watches behind her.

"God that's horrible." I whisper to myself.

I move on to another. Hiei, alone in a desert, making a way of life, with real rage in his eyes.

In the next scene, I see something horrible. A grown but slightly younger Hiei's eyes…cold with hatred and a lust for blood. He slashes, a horrible grin on that face, mowing down what must be an ice demon.

I see him fighting Yusuke, torturing humans, killing demons in the dark tournament…

I turn away, unable to take it.

Hiei. That's not the Hiei I know.

But did he ever really reform? I mean, with a history like that, no wonder he became a serial killer.

I think he did reform, but...

But no. No he didn't. It was always bubbling below the surface, and I didn't see it. He always hated me. He thought he liked me, but he'll never change. Once a killer, always a killer.

I can't be the same as I used to anymore around him. Forget it. Any possible friendship ends today. I can't befriend such a cold person.

I trudge out of Memory Lane, never felling more sad in my life, and head for his controls to find his soul and find the reason that he conked out.

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A/N R&R! All right, this may have been a little too much like a soap opera, but it was just an experiment. That was how I always imagined Hiei. Dark and cold underneath it all.


	52. Chapter 52

Disclaimer: Oh bla bla bla.

**Chapter 52: Soul Talk**

Now, if I remember correctly, I should get down to the heart of his brain if I make several sharp turns. But, I have already made my way through a twisty windy passageway, and I've been finding lost memories spaced out randomly along this corridor. All of them feature particularly horrible moments in my teammate's life, some too horrible to describe. But no control room! It's like Hiei has no brain and that he acts entirely without reason!

It certainly would explain a lot...

All right, maybeI am being hard on him. Just looking at his memories makes me feel a bit sorry for him, though I am by no means ready to forgive him. He just said he used me as a TOOL. Indirectly, of course, but he still implied it. And I'm so sick of analyzing this, trying to find some explanation, and have only found out that he either really meant that stuff or he is under mind control, and I really hope it's the latter, for his sake. I don't know how I'd free him if it were true. But...

If it were mind control, I would have sensed it.

But...why Hiei? He was always so nice, in his own UNIQUE way...

Oh? There's some light down there. I hurry to follow it. It reminds me of Genkai's control room.

But with her room came a nasty scary sentinel plus many birds of prey. If at all possible, I'd prefer not to go through that again. I had nightmares for weeks.

And talking about Hiei, and judging by how dank his little brain is, I'd say that his are much worse.

I'm getting closer to the light. I realize it's coming from a room up ahead. This must be what Genkai told me was a Personality Room, a.k.a. the Soul Room, Subconscious Room, or the Control Room.

I run up and peer inside. It is very small cramped, and completely blackened like my old elementary school's cafeteria hamburgers.

In the center is Hiei. That's the only thing that's glowing.Well, in a sense. Ghost Hiei. Soul Hiei. It must have taken refuge here when I knocked out his physical body. I stride right over to the center of the glowing blackness where he sits quietly. I walk up and power up my left leg. When I am two centimeters away, I shoot forward and kick him the head with all my strength. To my surprise, he hardly reacts. He just glances up at me, and I get a chill from those eyes.

"Hiei, you are such a complete and utter asshole!" I kick him again. Still no reaction.

He looks up deliberately, and I see that cold emptiness again. "I don't exist to please you. Joining Sensu was the best decision of my life."

"Hiei," I say, intensely frustrated, "You have got to snap out of it. If you are even snapped into anything. C'mon. Don't you want to see me, or Kurama, or your friend Touya, or all the rest?"

"They mean nothing to me. Get out of my head _now_."

"What about Yukina? Your sister? She adores you, Hiei."

He stands up, baring his teeth. "Don't talk to me about her."

"So she's your weak spot? Well, she sure ain't gonna be happy to hear about this one. Hiei, a traitor to the cause."

"SHUT UP!"

"Shut up? I don't think I _want_ to shut up. I'm going to keep talking until you either see the light or explode."

His eye twitches a lot. He's unable to find a response.

"You've failed her, Hiei," I say bluntly. "You've let down the only one who always believed in you. Your own sister."

"She watched me fall. She didn't...she didn't care...no one did."

"So is that what this is about? Revenge? You sicken me. Are you going to keep fighting for her, or are you going to betray her like the matron of your village?" I ask. "Do you want to see her thrown off a cliff, wondering if she'll make it? Do you want to watch that like she watched you? Do you want her to hate you as you hate the world for the wrongs you have suffered? Do you want her to hate you for watching her die?"

Well, I can't tell if he's snapping, but he's not doing anything to stop it. Better keep going. It does seem to be hitting something, though. His face looks like he just chewed up an orange peel.

"Let her feel what it's like to be abandoned in a harsh desert. Let's see how long she'll last, before the inevitable death. And when she dies, it'll be all…your…fault. You'll be trapped in your last image of her--falling off of a cliff, still loving you though you watched her die..." Everyone always said I had a true storyteller's voice. I never was impressed with that quality up till now. "She wouldn't betray you. Only you, you scumbag, would do something like that."

His limbs start to shake. "Sensu opened my eyes! ALL of them." He seems to be saying it to reassure himself rather than me.

"Come back." I say, in an unmistakable imitation of Yukina's timid voice. All I have to do is imitate a little pipsqueak that's probably afraid of ants.

Hiei just shakes his head tremblingly. "No...you're all wrong.."

At this point, I aim my kick considerably lower than what I did before. His eyes widen to the size of...well, grapefruits. He stands and bends over. He shakes out of pain.

My God, it must _suck_ to be a guy.

Then, as my last resort, I whisper, "Ice cream, Hiei. Remember the sweet snow? Remember? You can have all that AND Yukina. Come now."

Hiei looks at me in a kinder way, which is still by now means friendly and the barrier between his mind and the corruption fades. And then the soul dissipates quickly.

I guess this means he must have regained consciousness. That's good. I realize with pang that since Hiei is now back in his body, I'll get attacked momentarily. I can already sense mental defenses springing up. I need to get out now, and fast.

I leave the strange black room, and, flying upward, reenter my little encased body. I erase the bubble protecting me, and notice that Hiei is stirring slightly. Man, is he going to have a headache later or what?

I turn into a 5-inch tall girl again and run into his pocket, grabbing out the medicine bottle, my feeling of hatred returning.(God, this thing is as big as I am.) Ice cream is the only thing that Hiei really loves, and he's really cold to everyone else. Even his own sweet little sister. Even me.

I pick up the medicine bottle furiously, "accidentally" kicking and stepping on Hiei's special spot as I leave. He yells in his sleep.

I could change back, but I'd stand out too much…screw it. I guess I will anyway. Now that I have the growth serum anyway...

WAIT A SECOND! THIS BOTTLE IS EMPTY! Sure enough, I notice a crack in the side of the bottle, running down the whole perimeter. When he fell, he must have fallen on top of it and...it shattered...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…

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A/N SCHOOL'S OUT! REVIEW!


	53. Chapter 53

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH, I only claim onto the storyline.

Hey, some reviwer crap! I haven't done this in years! And sorry, but this only applies to chapter 52 reviewers.

Wyvernwings: I know there are spelling errors. (shoots computer) A word of advice to everyone. Don't use QuickEdit. Just don't do it. It mashes words together so much. And Wyvernwings, most of what you say is praise, so I don't mind if you have criticism. I know there needs to me more on the plot too. My plots are better in later stories, like my fictionpress one. I'd like you to compare it. If not, thank you for just reviewing my fanfiction thing.

fan: Um, no, I don't plan to discontinue Kara. You don't have to get all up in my face about it (nervous laugh) but I hoped you liked it. And I'll post something for you in the next edition of Kara, too. Sorry you was confuzzled over this one, though. He's not a traitor! Well, in his way, I guess, if you don't count...never mind. I'm not making you read it, though. I know it's confusing.

I just hope I tie it up all right in chapter 63. But I think most people will like it. At least, you all had better. It's 18 pages single spaced size ten font! Took me practically a year!

And of course, my dear old RebelWriter! Continue to review! My head just might inflate to the size of a blimp one day!

soccerchic91588: Thanks! I know, it is ironic. Fanfiction should make that into a genre on it's own: Cruel. Sick. Irony.

Seeyu: Yeah. Growth serum wouldn't kill Hiei. With it, he might even be able to battle a mouse and win.

Black Wolf Jaganshi Lover: You spelled it right (smiles). Yeah, I was sort of wondering if I should have deleted the Hiei traitor escapade, butI put it in just to be ironic. If you don't like it, I WILL NOT CRY! (sob)

Silent Storm 2000: Wonderful name...I'm glad my story is "cool beans" whatever that means (smiles) and I couldn't be happier that you like it. Thanks!

Now, we can get to the part that is actually of importance!

**Chapter 53: Traitor**

I run down the now dark hall, my rage fueling my speed. That bottle was empty all along. I wasted all that time, too. If I were to have given into Hiei, then he would have just taken me straight to Sensu. Tainted or not, he still should have been able to fight it.

But maybe I'm being too hard on him. He has had so much hardship in his past, it's no wonder he grew up like he did. I mean, I was taught from the start the Ten Commandments and all that other junk, but Hiei didn't have that. If anything, his parents encouraged it with their behavior. It probably was easy for Sensu to push him the other way. He was always border lined. His mind is so full of rage and hate that it probably isn't fair to blame him.

My emotions get the better of me. I run back and hoist Hiei's limp body up on my shoulders.

Or, at least, I am _attempting_ to hoist him up onto my shoulders.

A four _inch_ tall person doesn't carry very easily a four _foot_ tall person. Thank God he's short.

I won't even be able to drag him, let alone carry him. What can I do?

He tries to speak every now and then, but I guess it always overwhelms his stupid little jaw. I didn't even hit him that hard. He should have woken up by now.

Unless…what if Sensu is reaching out to him again? Maybe that is why he hasn't woken up, because of an extreme mental battle. If that should happen, then I'd have to fight him again, and possibly kill him. I don't need that on my conscience, along with everything else.

Hiei is now starting to twitch violently. I quickly envelope him in my power, giving him both temporary camouflage and mind protection. But now, in the darkness of the hall, anyone could easily step on him and discover him in a heartbeat, and then they'd save me the trouble of having to kill him.

"I guess I am carrying you after all." I leave him there for a minute, and I walk around a little bit before I discover a door. I jump up randomly and I feel around for a doorknob, grab onto it quickly before I fall again, and open it. This is a real broom closet, with all the floor detergent and brooms and whatever else. I run back and drag Hiei with all of my remaining strength to the door. I put Hiei down roughly, slamming and locking the door. I take his sword before I go, which is surprisingly light and easy to carry. When my power over him runs out, at which time he'll fall to evil again, at least he won't be able to hack his way through with this sharp, pointy thing. Now, with his firepower, I don't know. But taking the sword - that will slow him down by a lot, and that is exactly what I need. I knew I shouldn't have taken him! I only wasted energy lots of energy and worry!

You know what, why should I be worried? I don't like him like I used to anymore, (did I ever like him that way anyway?) so there really is no reason for me to feel this way. It wasn't meant to be, we weren't meant to be, and I just have to get used to it. He was just stupid and pried open my shell, and I shouldn't like him for that.

Although maybe it's a compliment. He never pried open anyone _else's_ shell before.

Whatever. I really need a life.

I quickly leave the scene, dashing down the hall at a mile a minute. I need to get big again. Who cares about stealth? I'm through with stealth. I need power. Stealth can die. Since I'm in the dark anyway, it wouldn't matter until morning. For some reason, the lights have been growing progressively darker and only now did I notice because it is almost pitch-black like Hiei's brain.

Wait! I recognize this intersection! This is right by the lobby! True enough, I do see the big brass doors which I ran through to escape Maurice. Which means…

I run faster than ever, switching to panther mode. Even though my robe trips my four feet, it is only a minor nuisance. The chemical closet should be right here…

I swear, God/Enma shone a pillar of light down on that door. I jump up about 3 feet onto the handle and press down. The door swings open, and I take a deep breath, trying not to look down. Once I have fully gotten my balance, I curl around the door, (my back legs are the only thing keeping me up)and I jump directly onto the second-to-top shelf. As soon as I land with a soft thump, my panther ears pick up on some skittering and ragged breathing.

I decide not to morph back to a human. Who knows what something as little as me is doing around here. It could be merely a rat – a very intelligent rat that somehow got onto one of the highest shelves. It could also be yet another miniscule demon employed by Sensu who is also after my blood. Still it could just be another stupid human who took a random drink trying to escape the guards and is starving to death at the size of a human hand. Hah. That sounds vaguely familiar.

What, I'm hungry!

Fighting Hiei made me realize how hungry I was. I wish I'd thought of bringing my pack. Even though it was extra dry beef jerky and bits of parsley and the occasional cracker – I didn't pack too neatly – it was still food.

There it is again! That annoying skittering! Maybe it has food with it! Maybe it _is_ food, even! Maybe it's a grasshopper! A yummy_ demon_ grasshopper!

Now I'm scaring _myself._ Does hunger really do this to you?

Trying to smother my agonized stomach, I take one step, the two, then three. The breathing becomes more obvious. I'm closing in. My instincts; the real panther form; says _kill it_. I suppress it angrily. That's a long time since that has happened to me. I guess I'm getting sloppy with my panther mind control.

Now I hear the breathing as if it was right next to me. I prepare to strike. What could be here? Because if it is a rat or a demon, maybe I will eat it. Much as I hate eating anything that hasn't already died or been cooked, I think I'll take it raw today. Even though I absolutely _hate_ sushi...

Well, I think me in my panther form will digest it perfectly anyway, and I'll starve otherwise, and I'll be ridiculed by everyone for not saving the world. I do not want that. Can you even die in the spirit world, anyway?

I grimace. Survival of the fittest…I must survive…whatever is here is going on his or her own private tour of a panther's digestive system.

Finally, I corner it. It squeals...like a human.

I prepare, but I decide not to strike it. I lower my massive paw. _That blue hair…_

For I see a face that I thought I would never see again.

But she's...she's dead...

She shrieks, but then stops when she sees I'm not going to hurt her. She studies me, as I'm studying her. She circles me, as do I. It's not registering: this can't be Botan. Botan was dead! So was Genkai! We already decided this! Am I hallucinating or what? Maybe this is an unknown side effect of starvation.

The reality hits both of us at the same time. I...

"I can't believe you're alive." I whisper.

"I can't believe _you're_ alive." She responds.

"What happened?"

"Your whole group started it, so you have to start talking."

"All right, Botan, this is my long and boring story."

"What about the others?" She demands.

"I don't know about anyone else, except that they are alive. I left without them because none wanted to go with me." Okay, it's a bit of a lie, but I don't want to sound like a fool by saying I wanted to go alone. "Now tell me about you."

"They left you? That's harsh." (My insides give a guilty squirm.) "But anyway, you know how Genkai and I were traveling together? Well, first off, we got sidetracked with these monster worms, called Paras or something. Genkai got really hurt---"

"Where is she?"

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there. She saved my life by deflecting a blow, and basically, she needed healing time, so we couldn't risk going to the village. So we stayed out there for about 3 weeks, and when Genkai was healed, we went up to the alley that we said we would meet."

I groan. "21 days? You're sure?"

"Yeah. You guys weren't there."

"That was the day we were tracking you! We were out for a few hours. Why didn't you guys wait before going up to the castle? Why?"

"Are you serious? Well, it was Genkai's idea. She figured you guys had gone up to the castle because you figured we were dead."

"This is so unbelievable..." I can't believe this. We both thought the same wrong thing! Why can't my life ever be fair? What happened to my life back in America?

"Yeah," she agrees. We sit in silence.

"So," I begin angrily. "So, tell me where the hag is? And why are you my size?"

"Yeah, her. Well, we got into a scuffle with a guard, and so we ran in to hide. We picked this chemical closet, at random. Well, the guard caught us, so I took a random draught from one of the shelves. It turned out to be a shrink potion. But Genkai wasn't quick enough, and so the guard caught her and probably took her to a dungeon. He subdued her by whacking her hard upside the head, so now she's probably sitting in the dungeon all cuckoo. I've been hiding out here ever since, eating some edible food scraps. The guard saw me too, I think, but he tried to corrupt me and it didn't work, so he just left me."

"Damn it, that's exactly what happened to me! What do you mean, 'corrupt?' What is that?"

"It's basically mind control for evil. To corrupt someone, you take every bad memory the person has, and move it into their soul room. The person lives with the memories and eventually makes it part of them. When the soul room is totally black, you know they are either evil or corrupted to be evil."

"So that is what happened to Hiei." I can't tell if I'm relieved or frightened.

"What?" She asks sharply. "Hiei was corrupted? But to break a will like his, you'd need some kind of psychic demon. Who do we know who is a psychic demon?"

"I dunno, maybe Sensu. We know nothing about his powers, after all. Lahri maybe. But that's it. And Lahri couldn't manage a huge task like that."

She thinks for a moment, something she seldom does seriously. Even weirder is the frown that follows. "You know, I've always kind of wondered about her. Always aloof, scared to talk, worried about everything. Her behavior matched those of spies Koenma caught recently."

"He caught some spies?"

"Yes. I don't know exactly who. Koenma didn't trust me enough." Her voice is bitter.

"So then, why couldn't you be corrupted?"

She smiles. "Nothing to use against me." She says, tapping her head happily. "As soon as I get a bad memory, I just totally forget about it. It's a weird brain trick that I learned 12 years ago. It's why I'm always cheerful. Nothing to cloud my mind." She smiles again.

"Botan," I ask gently, "Isn't that a pretty self-deceiving way to live?"

"Yes, it is. But it's a habit with me, and it makes me happy, so I continue it. Even though I had to ditch my old personality for it. When I was younger, I am told I was very...different. I don't remember. It was a bad memory."

"Where do those memories go?" This is really important. I try to sound uncaring, and hide my hunger for the answer.

"Just in some corner of my brain. Why?"

"Botan, I think you might have some memories that could be really important." This was why she didn't remember her encounter! "Like, what happened when you were attacked by the Beast in the Fog?"

She screws up her face. "That must have been a bad memory, for I do not recall it."

"But Keiko and Mie said that you were partially conscious, and when you spoke to me in the fog, you said you had 'found out too much'. What did you find out, Botan?"

"I told you, I can't remember."

"All right. Um...Botan, sorry..."

"For wha---"

I morph and slam her with all my strength of one massive paw. She falls to the ground in front of me with a soft thud, dead asleep. Tons of turquoise hair arranges itself about her tiny head. Getting sidetracked, I feel all that pretty hair. _God, how can anyone hold their head up with this much hair? I could count strands for 5 years and I still wouldn't be done!_

Slapping myself mentally, I let go of her hair. I astro-project and enter her sleeping mind.

Why did I not think of this before? Botan being the key; what was so difficult about that? This is how I can find out what that creature actually did to them. And why Mie was so strange after that encounter. I wasted all that time trying to get it out of Mie, and Keiko was really closed-mouthed about it.

When I open my eyes again, I see that all of her mind mazes are white. Not a speck of impurity anywhere. The tunnels are round, making it hard to balance. Exactly the opposite of Hiei's. I need to look for a deathly black room; holding all of her bad memories.

I don't have to look long. I just follow the trail of inky black stuff spreading across the spotless floor. Her bad memories must be building up and clogging up any other thought. Her mind is very complex, though. There's a point for Botan's intelligence! She'd be perfect for Kurama. Perky and personality-less.

Ah. The source of it all. A door is slightly ajar, and is leaking that arsenic-like stuff. I guard myself with some demon power, and open it.

There are so many memory screens in here; I don't have to wonder why some are fading and slipping out into her conscious mind.

I start to search. After many minutes of searching through all of these horrible memories, some quite violent or inappropriate (let's just leave it at that), I find one memory showing her seeing a Japanese woman getting killed by an advancing wall of demons. She actually looks a lot like Mie.

I mentally shut myself up again. It can't be Mie. That woman is about thirty.

Moving on, I find a memory showing two demon men talking. I recognize them to be Parasi (that thing that I kept slapping in the garden), and a blue creature in a hood. They are also talking to a huge white beast with yellow eyes. This is what I need. (The screen is obviously what Botan's eyes saw.) Keiko and Mie are on either side of her. They are listening just as hard as Botan herself.

"Here's the message, Ogre and Parasi."

I stop. Mr. Under Appreciated? A...a spy? This is really serious. This was how Sensu found out everything about me! Ogre did it! And...of course. Botan couldn't tell Koenma because she forgot that memory, and Mie and Keiko hadn't met Ogre yet...

Damn. What has he been doing back there in Koenma's office? I turn back to the screen.

Whitey speaks. "Now, your Katrina will come after the girl soon. When that happens, we are to bring her to him. If we fail, well, we'll have to find another."

"What if the daughter does not come?"

"Then we keep using more humans, until she finally comes. Once Sensu has those two powers, then he'll successfully destroy the human pests."

"I suppose," said the other.

Keiko hisses, "Guys, we gotta get out of here."

The other two nod. Keiko creeps away first, followed by Mie.

And guess what Botan does?

She _TRIPS_.

The big blue demon turns around, and notices them, and yells. He roars and the white one runs over to Botan with god-like speed, stopping only to fling Botan behind him, digging his claws into her back, where she falls with a nasty crunch about 6 feet away. Keiko cries out and tries to run back to Botan, and Mie pulls her back too late. The creature runs at them, and Mie has that much time to put up a shield of wind.

The demon slashes mightily, but it can't penetrate it. At first. Then Mie's power starts to weaken, the red glow on her hands vanishing slowly, and so she uses her last bit of strength to blow Botan out of harm's way.

Now, I am watching from a distance, and my eyes are rapidly going out of focus. I'm watching Mie and Keiko vanish without me. Then, a black thread of something slips out of nowhere (was it from the demon or something else? too far to tell!) and strikes Mie on the center of her forehead. Her eyes widen, flash black for an instant, and then return to brown. Suddenly, she gets severely enraged, and her power dies. But then, she gets this burst of renewed power and conjures up a winstorm to fly away Keiko and herself. Botan loses consciousness and the memory dies.

That was very odd.

After inspecting other memories for other clues and finding none, I walk out of the hall.

An idea comes to me.

I have no right to do this, but Botan is betraying herself. I must call her back to reality for her sake. She has to come down to Earth. I ignore that sinking feeling in my stomach that comes when I know I'm doing something wrong.

I dip into my power. I open all of the doors to the outside, to the perfect whitewashed walls.

The lost memories seep out, filling her perfect little brain, until I know Botan is back to normal, and the personality she should have had is back in play. As the black washes over me, I get depressed, both because of it and because of myself. _Why_ did I do that?

With a sigh, I walk around, trying to sort out the information. Botan was conscious; she must have been for her to have that memory. It had happened all like Mie and Keiko had said it did. But what was that black strike? Why had Mie's eyes changed color? And why had her power suddenly intensified after she had been struck? And it certainly did sound like they had planned to kidnap someone, probably Lahri, so it was not a random kidnapping. She was my lurefor a reason.What is it about Lahri that makes her so special to the Dark Side?

It's all becoming confused, like a dream. It's mind-boggling. Nothing makes sense.

I boot myself out of her mind, and re-enter my rightful body. I use some of my power to heal the fresh new bruise on her cheek, and then go to sleep.

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I guess I thought that if I woke up, I would have the answer. Well, I don't. I'm just as confused as before. All I have figured out is that something happened to Mie that day, whether good or bad or crazy or even accidental I don't know.

I glance over at Botan. She has already woken up. I notice a definite change in her eyes.

"Er…Botan?"

"Yeah?" She has a more tomboyish voice.

"Do you feel all right?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Botan, talk to me."

"Why? You got a damn problem with it?"

Oh my god. What have I done to her? "I have a confession."

"Yeah?"

"I released all of your bad memories last night, to find out some information."

"WHAT? Why'd you do that?"

"To save lives."

She's quiet. "So that's why I feel so different."

No one speaks. Then she says, "Thanks, Katrina."

"For what?" Now I'm bewildered. Wasn't she just really angry?

"You're right. It was a stupid, self-deceiving way to live. Thanks for freeing me. This was how I used to be; I'm more valuable now."

"I'm not sure I like you this way, though."

"Why?"

"Well, you were always positive the other way. I liked that."

"Oh. But I was useless that way."

"How are you any more useful this way?" For some reason, I'm feeling pissed at her.

Botan merely focuses on a poison bottle sitting next to her. She breaks it cleanly in half with an outstandingly destructive ax kick.

I gape at her. **I** couldn't do that. But Botan? "You can stay."

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A/N Well, this is just to make up for the length of the last chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. R&R! Thanks to all of my signed and anonymous reviewers! Have a nice day! 11 more chapters left! And wyvernwings, I am so done proofreading this. I hate QUICKEDIT! So, I'm sorry for my many errors.


	54. Chapter 54

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH.

**NOTICE: You may be wondering why I deleted They Used To Be Friends. Well, I think I'm gonna either completely reface it or make a new InuYasha story. So, it's not definitely gone yet, but it may well be. Give me advice on this. LPR and RebelWriter, thank you for the encouragement, but in the end, it was just taking up space. I will put it back up if I deem the idea a good one, though.**

**Chapter 54: Mie's Mother**

I stretch and cry out. Every bit of me is sore. Even my soggy brain. I feel like I was run over 50 times with no less than a cement mixer. And the only thing that woke me up was the trickle of light pouring in from the slightly ajar door. Other than that I am bat-blind.

I sit up painfully. I perform some exercises, and the crick in my neck finally goes away.

I glance over to see Botan. I almost go crazy, thinking, "What is she doing here?" But I remember how I totally…

I groan and sit down again. Am I no better than Sensu? I corrupted one of my allies. Well, not corrupted, but I certainly made it possible. Botan said she was only non-corrupted because there was nothing in her memory to use against her, but I've totally negated that. (In fact, that was probably why Genkai was caught off guard: Corruption).What possessed me to do that to her? I had no right. Instead of a perky weirdo, now I have this Amazon warrior queen that probably isn't the type to listen to me at all. What have I done to you, Botan?

I would change her back, but I have no idea how to recall all of those memories into that one trapped space again. And I would once again be violating her personal thinking space, which I can't bring myself to do again. What if I mess her up further?

Oh, if only my life had a rewind button!

I shake myself. _Think of the positives._

Botan will now be a valuable warrior partner. She certainly fits the bill for skill and character. And she will also have a more down-to-earth mind, which will help in battle plans.

Come to think of it, if she had all of that skill, why did she give it up? All of the fight scenes, all of her training, basically her personality…what was the point of letting it all waste away? Was it _really_ that memory of the lady (that looked uncannily like Mie) getting killed that pushed her over the edge?

Stupid. I should have looked further in her memory, to see what horrible things had made her make that choice. Though it could have been anything in there…

I gaze at her sleeping form, trying to resist the temptation. I could go in there one more time…

It would be for the good of mankind...Hah. Who am I kidding? This is for my own sick curiosity which I have no right to quench.

But I SO want to…

DAMMIT, I DON'T KNOW!

I have to know. I'm evil. I admit it. I have to know. Isn't that one of the seven sins? Lust?

I astro-project, silently begging God not to leave me for the devil when I die, and dive into her head once more.

I feel a rapid sensation, like going through a windy tunnel in New York. Then I nearly faint at the change in her mind.

It's nearly as dark as Hiei's and Genkai's were. This is horrible. And I did it all…

The memories are strewn all over the place. It's hopeless to find them all. I'll talk to her directly. I head for her soul room. I remember the way.

I enter it. The soul room is gray. That means her soul is sagging with the weight of the memories, but has by no means fallen negative yet.

Since she is asleep, Botan materializes in front of me. This is the new one still, not the one I preferred, with that hard look in her eyes. She stares at me and cocks an eyebrow.

"Botan?" I whisper.

"Who else? Why are you here, of all places?"

"I'm...I just wanted to apologize for what I did."

"Why should you be sorry? Sure, you invaded my privacy, but you freed me."

I shake my head. If only she knew why I was really here."What I really came here for was to ask you something."

"Why not just wake me up?"

"Cuz, I thought I could find it myself, but I couldn't bring myself to violate you again. So I came to ask you about some of the memories you were holding back all those years."

"Go on."

I can't read her expression. I lose my nerve. Of course I can't ask her why!

I do anyway."Well, my question was why you decided to toss your personality."

"Oh. That."

She and I are silent. "Well?" I finally ask.

"My best friend, Maritsi, was killed by her own kind. She fought with us in the last great war even though she was a demon."

"Whoa. _What_?"

"I was fighting demons at the time. There were a whole herd of them, trying to get to Enma. We had to hold them off until he was finished charging his Spirit Energy in his pretend pacifier...never mind. You don't need to know about that. It'll take too long to explain." She takes a deep breath. "Maritsi tried a tricky maneuver involving a kind of hyper-pitched spirit gun, and even though she knew the risks of such a beam..." Botan sighs. "The beam sucked away her life force along with the spirit energy, even though it killed most of the enemy. Her body was so obviously dead, and it lay there."

"Wow. Could something like that really do that?"

"Oh yeah. It did. I can still see them, the remaining demons, running Maritsi through again and again with their claws. She was dead, and they permanently maimed her anyway. It was cruel and sick. I thought...I don't know what I thought. I had my own battle wounds to worry about. But with her death came this huge tornado, whipping out of her body. I was blown to the other side of spirit world. My oar couldn't defend against it. It was that powerful. Then, Enma came out and trashed them like they trashed Maritsi." She sighs. "But it changed nothing. Maritsi died there, that day. Her body was so destroyed that it just...well, we had to cremate her. If you die in the Spirit World, there's no hope for your reincarnation. She left behind her daughter and husband, who later shot himself right after sending her to boarding school." She looks at me meaningfully. "Do you remember what Mie told you?"

Mie. I knew she looked exactly like Mie! "You mean Maritsi was Mie's mom?"

"Yes. Mie doesn't know, poor thing."

"Why?"

"Koenma thought it was better if she didn't know the truth. He was afraid she would come after her mother's killers. And well, she isn't he most gifted demon, being a half-blood, and Maritsi was nothing special either, so she'd be killed instantly, trying to take on as many demons as we did."

I nod. It does seem like the kind of thing rash Mie would do. "So you rid yourself of everything bad after Maritsi?"

"Yes. I couldn't--well, I didn't _want_ to take it. Shows how weak I was." She smiles sadly.

I don't deny it. "But Mie thinks her mother merely abandoned her."

Her face tightens. "That's too bad. Maritsi died a heroine's death."

I sigh. What a sad story. No wonder Mie's so weird. "Another question."

"Shoot."

"What other memories do you have relating to Sensu?"

"Really, I have just the one about the Beast in the Fog you asked me about earlier."

"Ah, okay."

"Okay."

"Thanks, Botan."

"Yeah, you too. Can you go now?"

"Uh, sure."

I fly out of the soul room and back into my rightful body.

Later, Botan wakes up. I don't hear her though. I'm way too deep in thought.

_How could Koenma think Mie thinking her mom was some bitch that abandoned them for adventure was the way to go? How could he even think that the right choice? That is so wrong, I could scream._

_But really, how is that so much different from my own case? Maybe Kurama really is right and that my dad really did just go to save the Spirit World. But both of our parents did it in very sloppy, painful fashions. Would it have killed them to tell their spouses where they were going?_

_Well, how would you tell your human spouse something like that? 'Oh, honey, after work, I'm going to stop around God's place and take on some powerful demons!'_

_'Okay! Have a great day, honey!' Hah. As if._

Botan's cold, long-fingered hand on my shoulder startles me into oblivion. After suppressing the urge to scream like a girl, I turn around to face her.

She smiles at me. "How are you?"

"Uh...good. And don't ever do that again. That really shaved years off of my life."

"You baby. Maybe _you_ scared _me_ entering my mind like that. But did you care?"

"I just wanted to ask a question! I didn't sneak up on you!"

"Yeah? Well now _I_ have a question for _you_."

"You do?"

"Yep. How long have you been here?"

"Awake, you mean?"

"No, I mean how long have you had those blue horns?" she says dryly, laughing as I pat my head worriedly. "What do you think? Seriously, I mean just in the castle grounds. How long have you been here? In terms of days."

"Um, well, I think about, like... I dunno. Two days max. I have no sense of time."

"Really?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Is there some reason why you are not fighting Sensu yet?" She asks sweetly.

"Uhh…?" The smile on her face is now dangerous.

"I asked you, why aren't you fighting Sensu?"

"I dunno. First there was my shrinking, then there was fighting Hiei, then there was you and entering peoples minds…I guess I got sidetracked." It sounds so lame. I got way more than sidetracked. A selfish corner of my brain really does not want to fight him. She'll never get me to admit it though.

"Well, why didn't you just come back here to grow up again?"

"Because I had to fight everyone in sight!"

"Really."

"Yes, really."

She's silent, and I suddenly realize what she's trying to do. She's really only trying to bully me into fighting him already. I resent that.

"Well, can we at least start? Instead of lounging?"

"LOUNGING? Did I hear right? I have not been LOUNGING! I have been doing a lot more than you, for example. You didn't even try to get out on your oar!"

"Hell, the door was closed. There was nothing I could do at this height."

"Same for me!"

"If you were being truthful, you'd really be a lot farther than you are now, then, right? Aren't you the Daughter of Kon?"

I can't answer that. I'm too enraged. I also have no comeback. I can't deny blood relation. She really fights dirty.

"Hah. Gotcha there. You really are just lounging. You're not even making an effort to find him."

That is so not true!...Right? "Botan," I say slowly, taking my temper back under control, "There is no more Growth Potion up here. I checked last time. The only other bottle was eaten whole by a nasty demon, and the other one was cracked."

"C'mon, are you saying you checked every bottle on the top of the shelf? Before you were taken? From what you've told me, that wasn't the case at all."

"No…"

"Then let's go already!"

Before I can protest, Botan made a monster leap and is already to the top of the shelf. I grudgingly follow, only I scuttle instead of jump. She thinks she's so cool. I wonder how easy it would be to push her right off…

Then I hear a trace of that old cheery voice. "The drinks come with brand names, Katrina! Would you like it from Arm and Hammer, Lysol, or I Told You So?"

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A/N CYA FOR NOW! And anyway, do you like the murder of Maritsi touch? Heh, I wrote this months ago, and when I revised this, I realized how corny her original death was. She _died_ protecting Botan (bleah). I was so cliche back in eighth grade... And this murder is only the beginning. It gets worse, I promise you. It will get _very_ worse. I always wanted to tie up Mie's mom, you know? I'm so glad I did! And review if possible! I've got about 850 hits on this but only 500 some reviews! REVIEW ME!


	55. Chapter 55

Disclaimer: DON'T OWN Yu Yu Hakusho!

**Chapter 55: Potions**

"Botan, if this is a joke, I'm personally feeding you to the sharks. And don't think I won't follow through with that."

"No, no, no joke! It's up here all right!"

For once, I believe her. I scramble the rest of the way up, and follow the sound of her voice.

There she is!

"Botan, SHOW ME!"

"Right there." She points eagerly.

She really wasn't lying! I can't believe it! "I just, can't believe it." I run over to check and smell it. I'm about as tall as it is."It's authentic, too! No sneaky poisons!" I actually hug the bottle. "Good job, Botan! And you even got it in purple! My favorite color!"

"SO…" She waits for an answer. I have none to give her.

"Yes?"

"Are you going to take it?"

"Oh yeah…I guess I do have to take it." Now I feel really mixed feelings. I could return to normal size, and have all the power back that was once mine.

And get caught all over again…so what's the point? I will not go through this again. I've wasted so much time already!

But if I stay small, even though I risk only a small chance of getting caught, I really won't be able to do much. How can I fight even a tarantula at 4 inches tall?

"Decisions, decisions…"

Botan's voice cuts in. "Well-l-l-l? Are you going to?"

"I dunno. It could really have its disadvantages."

"Oh, c'mon, your robe will disguise you."

"Oh, you mean this old thing?" I fish it out from my POCKET. My tiny, tiny pocket.That's how small it is. It's a dirty gray tattered mess. "I can't wear this at my size, let alone when I'm big again. It disintegrated like salt."

"Salt disintegrates?" She asks, and decides not to ask why. "Okay, scratch that. I can give you my robe, though."

"And where would you be?"

She shrugs, finally out of brainless ideas.

Unfortunately, so am I.

We stand in silence for what seems like hours.

I break it. "We can't grow just yet."

She grits her teeth in rage. "Do you wanna get killed? Then by all means make that decision. I'm going to get big, though."

"Botan, think about it. It would be suicide to try to pass by as human sized demons. They can smell humans or whatever and they'll kill us. At least as little people we can slip by unnoticed."

With nothing, she whines, "I _HATE_ BEING TINY!"

"I don't like it any more than you do, but it's our only option."

"Yeah, yeah," she says sullenly, but the her eyes light. "Katrina, can we at least carry the stuff with us? If we absolutely have to transform. Please?"

Bitch-Botan begging. This is one priceless sight to see. "Well, I can't see any harm in that…"

"YES!" She takes the bottle from my grip. "Glad you saw the light in that one, at least." She dumps out all of the vivid contents, making separate puddles of each. I am too stunned to try to stop what she is doing.

"BOTAN," I scream. "THAT WAS OUR LAST HOPE!"

"Shut up, you moron, keep your voice down! I didn't think you wanted to use it anyway!"

I take a deep breath to start screaming again, but am interrupted by a faint tinkling noise in the background. All of the puddles of violet junk have turned to make imperfect semi-round crystals. I stare at them for a moment, then go to their side. I wiggle one edge and a piece breaks off. I test it by placing it in my mouth. I chew it up, it being about as enjoyable as chewing cardboard.

I swallow.

I shoot up 8 inches! Now I'm a foot tall!

I run back to the now quite tiny Botan and screech with excitement! "Oh my god Botan, you're a genius!"

She shrugs. "I know."

"I'm big! And with just that little mouthful, too!"

"Yes, yes. But back to your old theory, you will really stand out now."

"Oh yeah." I sit down on the shelf to think.

This time Botan has the answer. "Listen, lets take shrinking crystals too! In case we need to reverse the effect!"

I look at her suspiciously. "Why weren't you this smart before I "freed" you?"

"Memories give me quite a lot of strength. By ignoring them, I left my intelligence behind as well."

"Okay, whatever. Let's find a shrink bottle!"

She obliges eagerly, and minutes later she is scuttling back to me with a bottle. I don't even have to say anything before she dumps it out into sections.

Minutes later, I am taking the hard orange crystals and testing them. I accidentally overdose myself with a bit of crystal, and end up being two inches tall.

"Awwww, you're so _cute_!" Exclaims Botan, bending and patting me on the head.

Angrily, I eat a little more of the growth, and become7 inches tall.

I curse and reach for the next bottle. It goes on like this for quite a while, until finally Botan manages to convince me that being 5 inches tall will work just as well as my original 4. It doesn't matter anyway. I'm dizzy and sick from growing and shrinking.

So, with nothing left to do, we load our pockets and stuff Botan's robe as well, and we still have 5 crystals left over. So, we just break those into tinier pieces still, and stuff them into our pockets as well.

Now we're all loaded physically. But I'm still human. I want to stall.

Here's my chance.

I grit my teeth. "BotanwhyumadKoenma?"

She cocks an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Why are you mad at Koenma?"

"How'd you find out?" Her eyes are calm as ever.

"I went into your memories, remember?"

"Okay then. Well, Koenma will not talk to me about anything anymore. It is the most annoying thing. It's like he doesn't fucking trust me. He's never been this secretive."

"Oh. Hold grudges much?"

"That's fair to say, I guess. Anything else?"

"Er, no. What were you saying about that one war that Maritsi died in?"

"Forget it. I know you're stalling."

_Damn. How'd she know?_

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Back at the campsite:

"THEY LEFT!"

"Kurama, get the hell over it! Stop hyperventilating!" Jin tries to restrain Kurama.

"_I'M_ HYPERVENTILATING? JIN, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS? Count us all up!"

"There's three." He says nervously.

"Exactly. Okay, look." He ticks off his fingers. "First, Yusuke and Kuwabara. Stuck and tied up in a dungeon. That's two. Botan and Genkai. Dead, most likely. Another two. And now…my little sister and her boyfriend, as well as Mie, who just felt like pissing us off, no doubt. Three! We've gone from a party of ten to a party of three. THREE!"

Touya said nothing, merely gazed into space. He knew Kurama's rage was just out of care, so he thought it best not to fight him on this one. Personally, he thought that Katrina was a selfish bitch, but at least she had tried to do something while no one else did. He commended her for that.

But why did she leave her teammates behind?

He heard Kurama speak. "There's no way she can pull it off, even _with_ Hiei's help. We're leaving at dawn tomorrow. I'll find her and give her hell. Then, we can all give Sensu hell. _Together._"

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A/N Review! Interesting stuff to come next chappie!


	56. Chapter 56

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH, I only claim onto Katrina and the storyline. All mine! OMG I just found out about page breaks! God, now I can stop with those freaking 555555555s!

And I'm not proofreading this. Sorry for any mistypes, Wyvernwings!

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**Chapter 56: ...the nameless chapter...**

**A Day Later: (Still no action! What's wrong with me?)**

I talked to Botan again this morning. I can tell that she thinks the best course of action really is purely action, but I can't get my nerve up. It's so pathetic, and when Botan said so, I didn't argue. Why lie about a part of me anyway? I've always been sort of weird like this. I get queasy over jumping off of a diving board but not fighting demons. Weird. Very. But, like I said, it's just me. Be glad I'm not some preppy girl who still plays with dolls and faints if anyone says cockroach. Those people annoy me a lot. The rat won't hurt you, for crying out loud! It may be slightly irritated that you distracted it from its piece of cheese, but god, it won't lunge at you with saliva dripping from vampire fangs!

At least, normal rats don't. Up here, who knows what will happen anyway.

But, Botan talked me into this crazy plan. Actually, you can't really call it a plan, because there is none. As she puts it, we are just going to find Sensu. You really can't get any more terse than that. Did she say how we were going to break in? No. Did she suggest any possible way to fight Sensu and his thousands of minions? No.

But, we are actually going. I can't believe it. I am such a doormat. Weare going, damn it! WE ARE GOING! GOING! GOING! GOING!

I hate Botan.

Let me rephrase that. I hate Botan with a flaming passion. And for not just the reason of her extreme persuasive powers.The thing is that she's not cooperating with her own idea. The day she gets done packing is the day she dyes her hair green. (Nada). You wouldn't think she was the type who carried a lot, but she is. Oh, she really, really, really is.

"BOTAN, ARE YOU DONE YET?"

"Almost…just wait!"

"I'M THROUGH WITH WAITING!"

"Aright, aright…" She comes out carrying a large bundle of cloth. "So, you sure you're ready this time? Cause we gotta jump to get off, you know that, right? You know, like fall down and maybe go boom?" I can't miss the scorn in her voice. Not that I can blame her. I'd be frustrated with me too, with all of the arguments we had over this thing that obviously has to be done.

"If you don't lose your nerve," I say, not quite aware of how stupid that sounded. I need to take an instant comeback class or something.

"Okaaaay, if you're sure…" she says. Grabbing her and mine packs, she tosses them over the sides of the shelf, and scuttles, crab-like, to the pole that connects all of the corners of the shelves.

I hear two tiny thumps at the bottom about ten seconds later. Ten seconds is a long time to fall...

"Botan, I wouldn't slide down that if I were you," I begin, correctly interpreting the strangely hungry look on her face. She smirks at me. Uh-oh.

To be sarcastic, she does that wobbly arm circles thing that usually signals a fall. Then she begins, very loudly, "UH-OH! KATRINA, I JUST LOST MY BALANCE! I THINK I'M GOING TO FA-ALL…" She teeters fakely, and does what the girls at my American school called the doom drop. It's when you are standing next to a swimming pool, and fall backwards, rigid as a board, to make a huge noise and a back belly flop. It really hurts. I tried it once, and put it this way, I never did again.

I run to the edge of the shelf to see if it worked. And I'm shocked, it actually did. Botan has one hand on the pole, and is sliding down as easily as a pro fireman. Her pounds of hair are flying straight up, and she descends at the ground easily. She scoops up the packs she tossed down previously. Then she calls up, "MATCH THAT, PUNK!"

But I'm onto her. "You have to give me a paddle, too." I say it in English, in hope to confuse her. She tried to disguise her oar but I could still see the end of it anyway. She wasn't careful enough.

"Hehe.And by the way, I can speak English! And I thought you'd see through that one. But now you can use any trick that you want as well! Good luck! I'll be waiting at the bottom, outside! I bet you 20 yen that your way won't be as cool as mine!"

Urgh. How can she do that to me? She knows I have no useful talents for this type of thing. She could at least let me try her paddle! Although, it's probably really, really hard.

I think, ticking off my options. Camouflage; drop like a stone. Panther form; drop even faster than a stone. Demon Fire: Forget it. Bubble:

Bubble! That's it!

I concentrate very hard, andwhen I open my tightly closed eyes, there I am. In a big fluffy sapphire-colored bubble. One thing I do like about the bubble is that it keeps you suspended in the center.

I must admit, even doing the doom drop with the paddle, she did it really majestically. I probably couldn't do it that artistically, though. What if she really does have to fly me down? Then I won't ever live it down.

I smirk. I refuse to let her beat me. Plus, I don't have 20 yen on me anyway.

I gather up the remains of my courage, and do a doom drop. I'm sort of sad I can't feel the wind at my back; I think that would have been a nice experience. The blue ball absorbs it all. I open my tightly shut eyes. The shelf that has been the closest thing I have had to a home in a month grows still smaller…

Just when I'm getting comfortable, I feel a harsh jolt. I furiously massage the new crick in my neck. I stand up in my bubble, and let it fade. When I drop down, I trip, and realize I'm standing in a crater. The crater made by my bubble. It's huge.

But if it's this big…

What if someone else heard it? From my studies of physics, that must have made a huge noise.

My nerves tighten. Must be extra careful now.

Oh yeah! Botan owes me! I must find her, and rub it in her annoying face.

"Botan," I whisper softly. "I'm done already!"

I whisper it several more times, each getting more urgent steadily. I clap my hand over my mouth as I realize I'm about to start screaming for her. But where is Botan? Did something happen to her out here, while I was falling?

I hear a creak behind me.

_Something did happen out here._

I hear excited chuckling, and I whirl around. There's the demon guard, all full-size now. My old long-time pal. He has Botan's limp body clutched tight in his big, tan fist.

"Too bad Sensu's not awake for him to see me finally catch you, Miss Katrina. That is what you're called?" He slashes for me. I leap out of the way in time. There's no way I can beat someone his size at my height, so I reach into my pocket for the crystals. Now, if ever, is the time to get big.

A tentacle/finger comes too soon. I can't leap out. Too fast. Too deadly. I don't even have time to say, "You cheated."

* * *

I wake up in a gray, dank, smelly place. Immediately it is followed by a burst of pain. Damn, my arms really hurt. But why… 

Oh. No wonder, I'm hanging by my wrists, strapped to a thin metal board that's parallel to the ground. I notice my legs are also chained, combined with a waist strap. Damn, no wonder I'm also as paralyzed as can be!

I struggle slightly, and I open my eyes further. There's Maurice, standing guard over me, looking incredibly smug. But he actually looks normal sized. I guess they must have regrown me. I am now all powerful again.

"Well, so Hiei's friend has woken up."

"You got something to say about it?"

"Plenty, actually. You thought you could pull the wool over my eyes, butI caught you in the end. What have you been doing for so long?"

"Thinking of nice little pink ponies with nice little pink wings stomping their_hard _little pink hooves all over you."

"Ah, I see."

He glares; I glare back. Finally, I stare him down.

He says abruptly, "Sensu will be here for you later. He'll show you your father and your purpose."

I say, just as abruptly, "So he definitely is here? My dad?"

He looks at me strangely, "Yes. Ever since he was defeated, which was several months ago."

"Aha. I see. Cruelty has nothing on your freaks. Why am I big again?"

"There were no bonds small enough for you at 4 inches high."

We sit in silence for a very long time. Finally, Maurice gets bored and ambles off, after checking my demon bonds for security again. Of course I don't argue. I like some good company, but Maurice, surprisingly doesn't count.

There. He left. Now I have some thinking time.

The only real answer I can think of is to break the bonds somehow. But how?

I start to fire up, glowing blue, so I can get an extra burst of strength.

All of a sudden, my body is covered with intense, white-hot pain. It's so consuming that I wishfully think of dying.

Then, it stops. I glare at the bonds. They look no different, yet I am slightly smoking. Damn it, that HURT.

I try to morph. Once again, the ties attack me.

I try to astro project, and to my surprise, it actually works. I detach myself quite easily, and am immediately freed from any lasting pain. I didn't know it was that effective. I float around aimlessly, checking out the electrocuting bonds. As I expected, the bonds have Demon Energy of their own, which allows for them to restrain mydemon energy. I remember that note Kurama gave me from my father. He had talked about being restrained as well. I touch the bind, and this is the first time that a solid object has affected my soul. I get a slight charge off of it.

_Guarded even against ghosts…Sensu thought of everything._

So then how can I free my body?

The answer hits me hard in the face, similar to that of a baseball bat. _The crystals…_

But how can I get them? I can't touch them in this form, and my arms are given absolutely no moving room physically. I need to get small! Didn't Maurice just say that there were no bonds small enough for me at 4 inches tall?

I re-enter my body with an inner sigh. The answer…right in my pocket, and I can't use it.

I'm pretty sure I've found out all of my hidden power that Genkai warned me about. Let's see…I have camouflage, panther form, panther senses, protective bubbles, and I guess that's all.

But didn't Genkai say that Spirit Weapons and other useful things were not characteristic of one person? She said that power can be pulled into any shape or form. So could I not use my power for grabbing the crystals? Yes. She did say that I could make an aura sword if my need was great enough.

' "Soul can do great things when it is called upon." ' God, I swear she spoke in my ear.

But since this is a new technique, this might take a while to function. My need wasn't ever great enough for me to learn how. Well, besides the bubble, that is, back in the Fog.

I sigh and set down to work.

* * *

Oh my god. I have been working here for hours. Why isn't anything happening? Something should have happened by now! Damn it, I hve a limited time before I get eaten! 

My plan is to make a small thread of magic snake into my pocket and pull out one crystal, but to no avail. My thread gets close, but never far enough. I guess it is because of my magic bonds. They must be blocking me. But at least I have figured out how to fool the bonds. The energy, is so small; so wispy; so delicate; that the bonds can't detect them. I wasn't kidding when I said it was a thread. Maybe it's too thin to work. It evaporates beforeit gets out of my hand.

What the hell can I do?

I think sullen thoughts…

Wait. Camouflage is not demon power, is it? Yes, that's right, that's the spirit energy in me. Yes, Kurama's is healing, and mine is camouflage.I can still use it without interference from the horrid ropes, right?

An idea forms.

I smile, and reenter my unconscious body.

* * *

Okay, now I'm camouflaged. I'm surprised I had the strength to do so. 

Now I just need a little more strength…I take my sapphire colored power and fully envision it reaching into my pocket in a long thread. I open my eyes, speaking demon words of command. It is similar to when Genkai blew Kurama off of her.

"Son RAO li Te noi FAM yyawk. KAN." It was spell Genkai said never to use unless everything else fails. She said it has a veryhigh fail rate, and can hurt the user.The way that this spell works is that it is a kind of spirit energy guide. You release a spirit and direct it to where you want it to go.

To my surprise, I feel no aftershock like she said I would, and instead of resisting me, thespirit power rushes to meet my need. I thrust it powerfully into my right pocket with my mind. I feel the crystals. Because I felt them when I first left, I know which ones to look for. It's as though I'm reaching with a finger and not a thread of energy. I can feel it perfectly.

I draw out one blue crystal. Perfect. That's all I need.

Now the tricky part…bringing it to my mouth. I carefully maneuver it towards my mouth.

Since I'm perpendicular to the ground (dude, I'm strapped to the wall), this will be tough. Creating a bowl of energy with my power, I slowly slope it up to my mouth.

I dump it in quickly so I don't lose it before I eat it.

* * *

It occurs to me what a stupid thing I just did. The binds are still hanging onto me although I'm shrinking. Rapid change rocks my body. I almost scream with the pain. Apparently, I shrink before I get skinnier, so my inanimate captors are really tugging me four ways. 

As I'm about to come in two/four, I become skinnier rapidly, and then grow smaller. Thank God. The binds try to tighten, but my change is too quick for them to really react.

Now I'm panting. At barely 6 inches tall, I'm lying at the center of the sheet of metal, tired and cold and hungry.

And free.

* * *

A/N Expect more later! Are you happy something happened? I sure am. It was starting to bore me. 


	57. Chapter 57

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH!

* * *

**Chapter 57: We're getting there, all right?**

I don't have even one second to lose. Not that I am able to. With nothing holding me up, I drop right onto the floor. The hard, cold, stony floor.

I massage my butt angrily, wondering why it is always me. Why oh WHY is it always me? Me, of all the people in the world, had to find out I had a fox demon brother, that I had to save my dad, and that I also had to save the world right on top of it. Does that seem fair?

And to think, I got here just because of a "phenomenal" story I wrote about an elf named Chimerae. Stupid Chimerae! I wrote you just because I wanted to get an award, not to be some stupid fairy-tale heroine! Why did I do that? I could have stopped writing it, right? RIGHT?

Urgh, I so hate myself right now. Well, maybe not myself, but definitely Chimerae.

True, this will be the most interesting school year of my life, combining all of my future children and grandchildren's lives. Unless some brother I thought got kidnapped starts to stalk them as well.

That would be very amusing. I'd laugh at my kids so hard every day. ' "A-ha, you're gonna hafta go through what I did! A-ha! Good luck saving the kids, you little midgets! A-ha!"

Of course, they'd probably move out, to get away from their insane mom and live with their long-lost brother.

I shake myself, physically and mentally. These daydreams are getting very annoying. I guess I'm more homesick than I thought. Oh well. I have more pressing matters to deal with, if you know what I mean. Like, WHERE THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO GO? I'm stuck in this stupid chamber now, cuz the door is locked, of course. I was stupid to think it wouldn't be.

It's true. I forget where and how Maurice got out of here. Why does this guy need so many booby traps and secret passageways?

I would dress up as a servant, come to think of it, but I would know neither how to get out or how to get to the servants wing or how to get to Sensu anyway. So, what's the darn point? The whole room is stone. My claws or glass shards wouldn't do nothing but break, and I doubt I could bounce my way to the top in my bubble without breaking my neck, and what would camouflage do?

Oh well. Last option. I summon my power, and glow with blue light. After several minutes, I hurl some at the wall. It leaves a scorch mark on the wall. I notice a slight indent where the smoking mark is. I might actually be getting somewhere!

I try again, and a third, and a fourth, all leaving slightly bigger indents.

* * *

Ok. Now I'm starting to weaken, but at least I'm almost through. I check it by knocking on it every once in a while, and it gets thinner and hollower each time. It's good to know that I'm not working for nothing. If this doesn't work, I might as well bake myself on a silver platter for Sensu. He'll undoubtedly eat me when he's absorbed my dad's and my energy.

Ah, there, it came through. I can see a tiny sliver of light seeping into the darkness around me. Perfect.

I feel the whole, and stick my head through. That's a long way from me getting through it. My face can fit through, but that's it. If I was a little house-cat, then I'd be able to twist myself in some bizarre way, and somehow fit, because my whiskers could fit through.

Well, it's worth a shot. Aren't I a type of cat, after all?

I morph quickly, and lower my muzzle. There's no way my whiskers are getting through this one. It's quite a long shot.

I step back and grit my teeth. I conjure all of my remaining energy, and direct it into my front paws. I draw the power up my arm, let its heat fill me, and create two massive fireballs, even better than those I hurled at Yusuke. One after another, they strike their mark, dead-on.

The racket caused is really quite marvelous, but I fit through better than perfectly. Maybe because my whiskers had A LOT of extra room to move. Who made up that stupid philosophical rule, anyway?

I'm out. I demorph slowly because I'm tired. Then I sneak along the shadows right next to the wall, even the though the cold makes my nerves scream. Why am I so tired?

Finally, my legs can take no longer. Now I know the secret of my sudden weakness. I accidentally tapped into some of my life energy when I hurled those fireballs, so that's why the blast was so intense and the reason that I feel so tired now. I just hurt. I probably shortened my life by at least 5 years. DAMN! NO way will I get to 80 this way!

But at least, I can think in peace. I think Maurice has forgotten about me, or any case has not reported my MIA status, so I have nothing to worry about as of now.

So now I have two options. I can either save Yusuke, Kuwabara, Botan, and Genkai and fight Sensu after, but I can also fight Sensu and rescue my dad first, and then come back for them.

It would be easier to have allies. But, getting them out of the dungeons (and even finding the dungeons to begin with) would probably be a waste of time, because they couldn't have guards any stupider than Maurice. I'd have to fight them first. I don't have the time for that.

But if I fight Sensu, I'll probably have to fight minions upon minions before him, all of which could easily kill me first.

Either way, I'll have to fight a lot of enemies to rescue friends.

To give myself thinking time, I start walking again, against my legs' wishes. I should focus on finding whatever is closest.

After an hour, I come to several signs. One points to the KITCHEN, one points to the LOBBY, one points to the DUNGEON, and one points to the POWER.

The power? What the hell's that supposed to mean?

Oh wait. There's some writing underneath it. I squint. I need to get new glasses.

…This room is for all who seek the throne. There will be 1-2 challenges before fighting the great, terrible Sensu. Challenge if you dare…

Gee. That is so Sensu. Two challenges first? He'd rather sacrifice his best fighters to test your strength, to see if he needs to run or not. The punk.

I hold up a finger. THE DUNGEON IT IS!

I turn left, and run fast, switching to a black cat of the night.

A horrible smell hits me. I turn back to a girl, and cover my nose. _Damn it, what is that smell?_ I've just come down into a dark hallway with many cages lining it.

Ugh. So that's what it is. People are rotting down here. The air is abuzz with flies, all monsters at my height. And demons are pressing their bodies against their cages, eyes alight with pure insanity, like that Batman joker-induced madness.

I look right and left, trying to find any trace of my friends. For once, I'm glad I'm so small. None of them can see me in this nearly totally dark basement.

Finally, I catch a flash of blue hair. Botan?

"Botan?"

She peeks a dull, crazy, violet eye out. "Katrina?"

"Yeah. I'm here to get you out."

"Okay, good. The key is at the top of the cage, up there." She points at it angrily. "It's what makes us go insane. The key to freedom, just out of reach."

I won't answer that. Botan reaches her hand through the cage, and lifts me up. Her grip is shaking with hunger. I reach up and grab the key. Oddly, Botan snatches it and unlocks herself, not caring that she just dropped me.

"OW! Botan…"

"Shut up."

Yo, what kind of attitude is that?

I untie the ropes on her hands, and she steps out, holding me in one of her fists.

"Botan, what---"

"Shut up. You'll make it hear us."

"It?"

"SHUT UP!" She whisper-screams.

I heed her. I don't want to fight her or "it."

She breaks into a run, jostling me.

WE finally get into the light. She instantly dives into the shadow of the wall, and places me down.

"What was that all about?"

I finally see her eyes. They are unusually bright. "It." She whispers.

"What is it?"

"Didn't you see it?"

"See what?" Now I'm worried.

"You didn't see the great purple monster patrolling the hall?"

"No, Botan." Am I crazy, or is she?

She looks at me nervously. "You're mad."

I take a deep breath. "Botan, did you eat something funny? Did you eat anything at all?"

One eye rolls. "Some old bread with some parsley."

_Parsley…why does that sound familiar?_

"Botan, are you sure it was parsley?"

"That's what they said. Now, I have to kill you."

"Wha---what?"

"You didn't see it. You are insane."

"Botan, don't make me do this." I know she's been corrupted. There's no other explanation.

"You…must die…"

SLAM.

Botan falls to the floor.

I withdraw my fist. What the hell was wrong with her? What did that piece of bread and parsley do to her?

I astro-project and enter her mind.

Instead of black, now her mazes are violet. Something is wrong.

I fly to her memory chamber. I entered into her mind very close to her memory, so it doesn't take long. I am getting to know her mind as if it were my own.

I view the memory screens. Instead of all those violent screens I first saw, there are assorted memories now. Her most recent ones all indeed show a great purple monster, which really looks scary. But it can't…it isn't real. I can't explain how I know, but it just is not real.

But Botan really believed she was seeing it. That was the scary part. Maybe it was the parsley that made it act funny.

But it probably wasn't parsley. That was so strange. I can't figure out where I've heard parsley before.

There's nothing I can do for her. I can erase those memories, though. Reaching into my power, I let it burn into all of her memories of the huge monster.

Once I am satisfied, I reawaken her with a minor brain jolt and get the hell outta her mind for good. That's it of me going in there. I feel too much like an unwanted virus.

Once I am in my body again, I wake up to see Botan standing over me.

"You had better not be trying to kill me again, Botan."

She looks confused. "What?"

"You just tried to kill me," I say, sitting up.

"I did?"

"Yes."

"Okay then."

I look at her. "Is it just me, or are you…"

"I'm back, yes."

"Don't tell me you whitewashed your mind again," I groan and stand.

"NO, no, but I've been a jerk to you. I'm going to try to be nicer. That way, I'll be able to hold my memories and learn from them, but still be annoyingly perky!" She grins.

"Botan, I'm actually glad to have you back."

She breaks the hug. "Actually?"

"Well, you annoyed me before, so when you turned all punk, I liked it better. But I must say, now I like this side of you better."

"Oh, don't go mushy. And are we going to fight Sensu yet?"

I groan. "Even now, you don't give up."

"Yup. But without me, you wouldn't have even gotten this far."

"That's true. But I have some questions first."

"Shoot."

"Why were there no guards in the prison?"

"Oh, that? They didn't figure we were that much of a threat. And---ahhh…"

"Botan? BOTAN?" She's just slumped to the floor.

She grabs me and whispers, "Spirit Drain Attack. Use Spirit Drain Attack when fighting Sensu, it will prevent his soul's escape…and on me…reach into your magic and say the Words of Command. Genkai asked…" She goes out again.

I'm very stunned. I reach into her with my magic with my very tiny hands. She's knocked out. But why? Could someone have beaten her up? Or was it that stupid parsley?

She is breathing kind of funny. Genkai taught me that usually signals a stomach virus.

And what was with the Spirit Drain Attack she mentioned? Why did she say to use it on her and Sensu?

Oh, damn it. I understand. She's dying. She wants me to prevent her soul's escape.

Here's goes nothing…and everything.

"Son RAO li Te noi FAM yyawk. KAN!"

All of a sudden, I am Botan. Not inside her, just…her. I feel her escaping me…

I grab her…

I hold…

I tug her back…holding the madness behind me…

…it's over powering me…

…have to run…

I come out of my trance, as though someone slapped me in the face. I chance a glance at Botan. If I failed, Botan's dead. Botan is breathing better, but by no means cured. I only delayed the madness. She was doing a pretty good job on her own, but I guess she couldn't hold it off forever. I need Kurama or Yukina for this sort of thing. I was not trained for healing like this.

I would go insane, but hear a lot of people coming. I can't lug Botan's body over to the wall in time. I'm dead. So close, and I'm already dead. Off to the specimen for Sensu's twisted experiments with my father and I.

The creatures, only three of them, come by, talking in low voices to each other. Each has an ax with a bloodstain on its robe.

Oh my god. How can it be them?

_My brother, Jin, and Touya. _

* * *

A/N This was a sucky chapter, I admit. I gave up on editing it from when I wrote it like a year and a half ago. Oh well. 


	58. Chapter 58

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH.

**Update: **Oh, and I updated faster because Wyvernwings, RebelWriter and several others have begged me to, so I decided that I will update every Sunday AND Thursday rather than Sunday only. Gets it done faster, anyway. The same cannot be said for Kara, as I don't have the whole thing done anyway. I hope you enjoy! And there's this new rule that says you're now not allowed to respond to reviewers, so I won't actually do it, but thank you everyone in general. And to one reviewer who begins with a W, yes, the last chapter was bland, but I am getting so tired of editing this damn thing from last year, so I'm not putting in as much effort with the revisions. I'm sorry if they do seem bland, but I really don't care anymore. So, here's my new philosophy:

BLAND POWER!

* * *

**Chapter 58:**

It's really, really them.

How can this happen?

Why are they here? Did something go wrong at the campsite?

In my delayed reaction, I almost let them walk right by. For some reason, they aren't noticing Botan just sprawled on the ground in front of them. Weird.

I yell up to them, but they are talking amongst each other too heatedly, and they don't even notice.

On a sudden inspiration, I drag one of Botan's legs out into the path. They still don't notice.

Let me rephrase that. They don't notice until Jin trips.

"Ack!"

"Jin, how many times do I have to tell you shut up?" growls Touya.

"No, I tripped! And…god…" He leans down and picks up Botan's leg. "It's Botan!"

"You're kidding." Kurama bends down to look.

Now's my chance. "KURAMA, JIN, TOUYA, LOOK TO THE RIGHT OF BOTAN'S LEG!" Man, I didn't know I could go that loud at this size. Imagine how high I could go at 5 and ½ feet tall…

They jump considerably, Kurama readying a rose whip.

Touya sees me first, and raises an eyebrow. "You know what, I'm not going to ask." He says, shaking his head.

"Katrina, is that you?" Asks Jin, picking me up.

I tell what happened. Kurama seems to be struggling not to say anything.

Everyone looks at him worriedly. "Er…Kurama?"

"Kat-rina, why did you…leave?"

"Um..." They don't need to know that it was because I was sick of them. Particularly not Kurama. Maybe I'll tell him if he ever gets high on pot.

"You…know…we would have…come with you." He says, his voice rising to a screech.

There's no answer for that. I've wondered about that myself as it is.

Jin breaks the extremely tense silence. "What happened to Botan?"

"Well, she's being corrupted. I tried to stop it, but it's probably taken over by now." I know it's hopeless. "Unless one of you can do something, that is."

"No, nothing. The best thing that can be done in a case of corruption like this is to kill the controller. Other than that, it's impossible to block. Our other option is for her to free herself, but that's not likely. That's all."

"I just feel like I've failed her…"

"Shut up, Katrina. Where's Hiei/Mie?" Ask Touya/Jin at the same time.

"Oh, Hiei. He was corrupted. I had to battle him. I won. Then I also locked Hiei in the closet by the lobby."

"I'm on it, I'll catch up," says Touya quickly, and picks up Botan. "I'll take out Hiei and put her in." And he turns around and walks out of view, even as Kurama says to wait. Kurama shakes his head. "He really seems to depend on Hiei. And where's Mie?"

"Mie?" I ask, confused. "I didn't take her. I had planned to go all by myself, but Hiei caught me. If Mie came along too, she didn't speak up."

"Ugh. Well, she left the same night you did. Where did you find Botan? And why are you so small?"

I proceed to tell them all about what happened, starting at Maurice and ending at Botan's identical predicament.

Jin smiles. "I knew you were smart."

I roll my eyes. "And as for Yusuke and Kuwabara and Genkai, they are all still locked up. Botan said Genkai was caught while she escaped." I tell them about the huge misunderstanding.

Kurama's reaction is similar to mine. "I can't believe it. The one day we were away, Genkai and Botan came back. I can't believe it."

"I know. It's really unfair. How have you guys made out?"

"Waiting for you to come back! We thought you had left on a walk and that's it. But noooo, you had gone on a little joyride---"

"Kurama, leave it alone. It's done with already. We need to focus on more than family issues." Whoa. Looks like even Jin has an inner scholar.

"What, like, fighting Sensu?" Asks Kurama.

"Yeah, what else? We have to save Botan, as well as the prisoners, and with Touya getting Hiei too. We should wait for him to return and get it over with already."

"Yeah, I guess it must be done. We've all been trying to ignore it, whether we're aware of it or not." I say. Kurama nods.

"So, Katrina, is there any way for you to get big again?"

"Yeah." I reach into my pocket and pull out the crystals. I eat the blue ones to grow, and the orange ones to shrink."

Kurama examines them. "Well, would you like to join us at human size?"

"Actually, I was hoping you would join me at my size." I say.

Kurama blinks. "Why?"

"You'll stand out too much at that height. We might be able to sneak by Sensu's minions if we just stay little."

Kurama thinks it over. "Well, you make a fair point, but we need to fight his minions first."

It's my turn to blink. "Why?"

"Because they'll be guarding the door to the next room. We have to kill them."

I groan. "Okay, you win. I'll grow as soon as Touya comes back."

Kurama shrugs. "As you wish."

We wait for ten minutes more, and finally, Touya comes back, dragging a limp Hiei partially slung over his shoulders. Hiei is out like a light. I also see he's carrying Botan, though not as carefully.

Touya places them both down rather gently, and pulls a piece of meat out of his now very small pack. He motions to Kurama nothing I can understand, and Kurama places each of his hands on both of their foreheads and awakens them using the sacred words of command. Botan opens her eyes feebly, and Hiei follows suit.

They both see the beef jerky and literally leap fly through the air for it. Botan gets there first, and Touya gives Hiei another piece, despite his babyish pouting. They each tear it into shreds and eat like I've never seen anyone eat. Kurama hears something, searches around for a door, finds one at last not far down the hall, and after careful checking, pulls us into the unoccupied room.

Once Botan and Hiei have eaten their fill, they start talking immediately. Kurama shushes them and speaks in his normally calm voice.

"Touya, I thought you were going to leave her there."

"Nah. As I was walking back, I felt her free herself with my mind. I then realized she would be a useful fighter, so I decided to keep her. I got Hiei out quickly, and carried them all back."

"Okay. Is Hiei still corrupted?"

"No. Let's ask him why."

Hiei begins. "I have a stronger mind than Sensu thinks. He did place me under control, but I fought it after I had a heated discussion with Katrina in my Soul Cavity. It kept me sane and remembering who I am. So even though Sensu tried again and again to re-control me, he failed, and eventually got bored and stopped, I guess because he knew I was stuck anyway. He couldn't do it because I kept focusing on Katrina's points, and it protected me. Every thought I conceived was focused on that conversation. By then, my mind was really weak, and I had no will for anything. I stopped trying to live, and I really accepted myself for the first time. I accepted my death, and just lived."

"Mate, why didn't you break out the closet?" Asks Jin in a confused voice.

"I was too weak from fighting control. I thought about nothing else. I didn't realize I was in the dark and starving to death until I saw the door opened, and the light and everything else came flooding back, and that really awakened me. How did I get into the closet, anyway?"

Everyone stops breathing, knowing what he'd do to me if he found out, and Jin starts interrogating Botan instead. "How did you free yourself?" I'm quite sure Hiei noticed, but he's decided to let it go. Whew!

"I was never corrupted, you guys."

"REALLY?"

"Yeah, it was just the food they made me eat, the vairvain. They said it was parsley, but it really wasn't. The herb makes the ingester go insane with just 3 dosages. One dosage, you act against your normal personality. Two dosages, and you don't recognize your friends or family or even yourself. Three dosages…you let go of everything."

Everyone shudders.

"But you sure you're all right now, Botan,because I already told you that you tried to murder me."

"Yes, I'm quite fine. I'm glad you got me out of that junk heap of a prison cell."

"So am I."

"Oh yes, Katrina, you want to get big again now. You said you would." Kurama doesn't forget anything, does he?

I oblige, and eatthree of the blue crystals. I'm instantly 5 and ½ feet tall again.

Hiei asks, "Are we going to fight Sensu yet?"

Kurama answers, "Not all of us."

This is greeted with stunned disapproval. "Wha---what?"

"Well, look, some of us have to get Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Genkai."

"Who will?" I ask.

"All right, guys, no one argue. Someone has to do this, because what if fighting Sensu or his minions collapses the building? They'll all be crushed. The ones who will go are Hiei, Touya, and myself. Botan---"

A cry of outrage cuts him off. "You can't do that!" Yells Touya. "We are the strongest fighters! We are needed to take him down!"

"We aren't." He replies coolly. "She is." He gestures in my direction. As usual, he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Touya snorts. "Play it your way. She may need our 'help'."

"No, Hiei, you, and me are all the stealthiest ones. We need to get past the guards to get to the prisoners. Now Katrina, Jin, and Botan have no stealth at all, and would surely get us all killed, so that is why they are doing the outright work."

Touya can't argue with a compliment. He snorts again. "So then, Botan, Jin, and Kitty will tackle him with their diapers?"

"Touya, stop being a jerk. Let's go." Says Kurama edgily.

He rolls his eyes. We open the door to the outside hallway, say our goodbyes, and watch Touya, Kurama, and Hiei leave. I can't even be mad at Touya for all the cruel things he said to my face. Much as I hate him, I don't want him to die. Nor do I want bro and Hiei to die, either.

I watch them depart, with a sinking feeling in my stomach. Whether it's for them or for me, I don't know, but I'm just very worried.

Now what?

Botan speaks. "So then, are we going?"

I nod. Jin does the same.

* * *

A/N: Can you find it in your hearts to review? JUST FOR ME? PLEASE? 


	59. Chapter 59

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH! And here (finally) is a battle!

**Chapter 59: Paddle Power: A Botan Battle **

"Okay, then," says Botan, with a bite of pure impatience in her voice, "Shall we go, before we all lose our nerve and run home, screaming and crying like babies, terrified of the consequences, should we fail?"

"Not helping, Botan," Jin and I say at the same time.

"But we have to go, regardless of death, injury, maiming, scars, torture, soul-taking, soul-sucking, corruption, dissection, poison, becoming food, insanity, overpowering fear, burns, frostbite, suffocation, smothering, confusion, snipers, stabbings, shootings, fire, mind control, and even---"

"NOT HELPING, BOTAN!" Shout Jin and I in unison. That shuts her up, which was what I was going for. Now I can think straight. However, I am unable to resist. I add out of spite, "Something tells me we won't have to worry about all of the inevitable wounds we'll accumulate. Botan here will just tell us what they are and how unpleasantly we will die because of them, and we'll be so afraid, we won't even think about the pain." Botan glares daggers at me, and I smirk. Mwahahaha.

Finally, Jin speaks. "Okay, I'm already getting nervous, no thanks to Botan. It's now or never."

"Now," I say grimly. We all open the door together and the three of us walk out. When we come to the intersection, we head straight in the "POWER" direction. To my dismay, the path leads downwards instead of up. Perfect. I'm going to die below sea level, even!

Finally, after walking in silent dark for about 10+ minutes, we reach a heavy iron door. We all look at each other warily.

"Well, this is it." I say.

"Yeah."

"For Katrina's dad and Lahri."

"Yeah. As well as Mie, Genkai, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, Touya, and ourselves."

"The fate of 9 people rest on us."

"Yeah. Not counting the human and spirit world."

It isn't funny, but we break out in laughter, desperate for any sound at all to break the awful silence plaguing us.

Jin finally says, "Well, Katrina, would you do the honors? It's your dad."

"My pleasure." I turn panther, and yank open the door with all my strength. The doorknob is super cold – it makes the skin on my paws tingle angrily. But other than that, the door opens easily with a loud creak. It obviously hasn't been used in quite a while, judging from the innumerable amounts of cobwebs draped over it. I can't say I'm surprised; cuz most would have to be either very brave or very stupid to want to face off against the toughest demon in the world. I count myself as both of them. I demorph, and wipe a cobweb out of my hair to hide my shaking hand from my partners. The last thing I need is for them to mock me for my mild fear of the dark.

None of us wants to go into the dark stone passageway that lies ahead, dark-a-phobia or not, but somebody has to, so I do it, building up my small amount of confidence. Botan follows hesitantly, gripping my filthy robe, and then Jin with his teeth gritted tightly, who is also gripping Botan's robe.

We walk for a surprisingly short period of time before encountering a huge, pitch-black chamber. Gee, I wish I were a bat. I could just echolocate and find out what this is all about. From what I can tell, the room is a perfect cube, and it seems relatively safe. I even start to relax slightly.

My relaxation period is seriously killed when I hear this deep voice, terrible, poisonous, and cruel, which breaks the silence out of nowhere. I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. Jin grits his teeth even harder, and Botan is trembling silently.

"_Challengers. Who are you?"_

"Kat, Jin, Botan."

"_Will you accept the rules?"_

"Um…yes?"

The awful voice booms. I cover my ears in agony, as do my friends. God, VOLUME! Watch the VOLUME! My mom was a screamer, but not of this VOLUME. _"EXCELLENT. YOU WILL FIGHT TWO WARRIORS SERVING UNDER MY RULE, BEFORE TRYING TO DETHRONE ME, IN ONE-ON-ONE BATTLES. ONCE YOU KILL OR SUBDUE THE WARRIOR, YOU WILL GAIN ACCESS TO THE NEXT ROOM THROUGH A KEY THE WARRIOR CARRIES. DO YOU ACCEPT?"_

"We accept," says Botan confidently, her clear voice quickly swallowed up by the silence.

"_Then let your challenge commence."_ The voice gives an air of great enjoyment.

That line must have tipped off some high-tech machinery, because at that moment, four spotlights turn on in each of the corners of the gym. I see a stone door like the one we just entered on the other side. That must be the way to get through to the next arena.

Yet strangely, no one is here.

Why is that?

"Sensu, show your challenger." Jin is speaking this time. I guess his Shin Obi training taught him to be brave. Or maybe I am just comparing him to myself.

"_I'm coming."_ The voice is different; terrible, but not as bad as Sensu.

Then, the entire left wall splits in half with a loud screech, withdrawing into the other walls. I hear monstrous footsteps that are slightly making the ground tremor.

As they get louder and shakier, Botan grips my left arm, her nails digging into me like needles. I chance a glance at Jin. His teeth are gritted very hard, hands shoved into the pockets of his robe. He's taking it rather well, or at least, better than Botan.

Seeing her shake gives me a boost of confidence, the way sugar gives quick energy. _I'm way above that._

A creature finally walks in.

As it comes into the light, the wall shuts behind it with a deafening BANG, followed by quite as bad a screech as the first time, and I get a good look at this massive demonic thing.

At 12 feet tall, it is a sight to see. Thick dirty-white hair covers its whole body, giving it a slightly Abominable Snowman look. Inch long teeth jut from its mouth, dripping saliva, and it would have looked scary enough without the yellow eyes. Something bright hits my vision, temporarily blinding me; I realize it must be the key to the next room hanging on an iron chain around its huge neck.

Something stirs in my memory.

Gee, it looks very similar to the creature in Botan's memory!

"Botan," I hiss. "Was this the thing that took a chunk outta your back?"

I realize she's let go of me, and says, very confidently, "Yes, this is most certainly it. I'm looking for some payback."

Dude, what's with Botan's change of attitude? I didn't know she was so combative! Jin also looks surprised. He's never seen this side of Botan. I feel a pang of guilt. I brought this change. But maybe the change is a good thing. I mean, she can actually fight now, right? In her previous state, she couldn't do nuffink, right? Doesn't that justify it? 

Ugh, this is going to seriously haunt me to my grave.

The Snowman speaks. "_I am Rhiharl, the first challenge. I have never been defeated. Choose your challenger."_

Botan steps forward before I can stop her. "I do, Rhiharl."

"But Botan," I hiss at her, grabbing her sleeve in an effort to drag her back. "No offense, but you're very weak! Let Jin or I do it! C'mon, please don't do this!"

"No offense taken," she growls. "But don't you get it, Katrina? This is not about some stupid heroine contest, or moronic dominance thing. This is about trusting myself. I need to know that I can depend on me. If I stand back and let him fight and hurt you or Jin, I'll never forgive myself." She glares at Jin and I menacingly, violet eyes glinting dangerously. "Don't either of you dare step in, no matter what happens! Do you remember that Mie nearly died trying to save me? That's been haunting me for too long. Today, I repay my debt. I'm taking Rhiharl down."

I don't know what to say. I never heard as good a speech as that one was, even though it was kind of Yu-Gi-Oh-ish. She should've been a politician or a lawyer. Maybe even president Tch, yeah right. Botan president? Not a chance…(A/N Botan as president/emperor? That would make Bush and Kerry look like governmental saints…)

"Well, Rhiharl?" Botan asks politely, coldness in every single etch of her voice.

"_Move_._"_

The start to run around each other, testing each other's speed. Botan is actually matching him. Impressive, for such a skinny, weak looking, fluffy girl. Rhiharl really isn't that fast. All that bulk must really weigh him down. Even Botan is slightly faster, and that is very sad.

Rhiharl unsheathes his claws, and takes many mad swipes at her while both of them are still in motion. Botan dodges them all, using martial art dodges like that of Jackie Chan. Man, she's full of surprises. I can't figure out how she got that good. Who trained her? Could Genkai have trained her too?

I see Botan's hands (which she has just hidden behind her back, by the way) are starting to glow with yellow fire. So she's building up her power and keeping it out of his sight. Very wise.

God, I feel like a commentator. ' "And there she goes, a quick dodge to the right, and – OH – a very near miss there, my she's getting ready for some fightin…" '

He takes several more wild swipes, but that doesn't distract Botan. She aims and fires her own brand of Spirit Energy and hits him. I think she's triumphed, but that barely hurt his health at all. He does have a slightly smoking wound on his shoulder, and Botan seems to get overconfident. He takes another swipe and strikes her a glancing blow on her arm. She doubles over, twitches her hand in a kind of flick motion, and I think she's going to get hit again, but as he makes that strange undisciplined swipe…she vanishes?

I realize what she did. "YEAH BOTAN!" I scream. I wasn't a cheerleader in 7th grade for nothing! (A/N Cassie, don't start hating her! Not all cheerleaders are bad!)

Jin hisses, "What did she even do? I've never seen a move of the sort! A-a vanishing spell?"

"Shrunk," I say simply.

"Ah."

I see Rhiharl (He will now be referred to as Rhi) look around, puzzled. I really wouldn't have thought Botan could have conceived a plan like that, but well, you learn something new every day, right?

I focus on the spot Botan first was, and indeed see a little 3 inch tall figure. But unfortunately, Rhi sees her the same time I do. He raises a massive hairy foot and stomps, but I see a little figure whizzing away on a small paddle just in time.

"What a woman," sighs Jin.

_Ugh. He hits on one person to the next, doesn't he? _I grin to myself, glancing sideways at him slyly. He'll never learn.

I watch further, using panther vision. Rhi is now trying to swat Botan the way a human would swat a fly, but she's even faster on a stick than on the ground. There's no way he'll catch her that way.

But one problem with Botan is that she has little or no offense when she's that tiny, even if her defense and evasion rate are spectacular. But no one ever beat a foe by avoiding them constantly.

But what can she do?

Botan isn't faltering yet, but I can tell the lazy, calm way she is drifting back and forth is boring her. She soars over to us…a little blue-haired pixie girl on a paddle.

"What do I do?"

"Get big, TinkerBell," I say simply. "Use the…"

The creature has seen us talking to the air, and has made the correct assumption being that's-where-she-is. Oh goodie, I didn't think he'd even get that far in his thought process. Rhi has been running over, swiping madly, and it's not only Botan who is in danger. I cartwheel, and Jin and Botan let the wind carry them away.

So instead, Rhi strikes the wall with his thick skull, leaving a great many cracks in his impact position. He shakes his head and the new tan lump sitting on it, trying to un-dizzy-ify himself.

Unfortunately for him, that was all the time Botan needed. When he turns around to resume playing cat-and-mouse with the bug-girl, he gets a faceful of life-sized paddle.

Staggering dazedly and blinking those bright yellow eyes, he stumbles backwards, where Botan continues to whack him forcefully. But several times, he sees her let her guard up and slashes viciously in her stomach. She does not recoil, though, which I really admire. I would. When Yusuke did it to me, I was totally defenseless. That's my main problem…I have little stamina, unlike this warrior princess I am watching battle.

But then Rhiharl, grinning in spite of his facial wounds, grabs her staff without warning and takes it roughly. He swings it with impressive speed and gets Botan in her stomach in the perfect spot, sending her flying into the wall. Rubble falls on top of her.

He grins wider, still holding the paddle. He advances toward his motionless enemy. Botan opens her eyes and painfully stands up, only to get hit again with her own stick.

I advance angrily on Rhi, but Jin stops me by grabbing my cloak.

"Let me go!" I hiss. "This is ridiculous, we never should have allowed this, damn it, she's gonna die…well? Let go!"

"We made her a promise." He says simply.

I glare at him and his perfect reasoning, and sit on the ground. I can't look at Botan. I've failed her, and there's nothing I can do.

I see her try to summon that yellow fire, but she fails. She's all out. She can barely move.

"Ugh…"

"You die today, Botan. All hope is lost. You will die just like Marias did, all those years ago. You'll be seeing her shortly."

She stretches out a hand, as if in defeat. Then…she smiles?

It must have been a trick of the light, for she says painfully, "Rhiharl, I do not think I am dead quite yet."

"You will be."

Tears form on her eyes. "Yes, you are right. I'll…just…" She stares at us and smiles.

Then she slumps to the floor, violet eyes staring. All life is extinguished from those violet eyes. _No…she wouldn't…she can't be…_ I stare at the lifeless body, disbelieving.

My breath catches in my throat. Jin puts an arm around my shoulder. "It was better this way," he says softly, patting me. "She wasn't killed. She died."

Tears form on my face. I bury my head in my hands, and fight back angry sobs. As the thought of killing him to avenge her comes to my mind, I hear something. Someone is yelling something loudly.

I wipe my face quickly and look up.

Rhi is storming around, talking loudly to himself. He's tapping his head. More blood forms on his face, which kind of reminds me of the look of someone experiencing apoplexy. (Basically blood vessels in the head explode.) His face fur grows redder and redder. Then without warning…

Finally, the undefeated Rhiharl slumps the ground, his face a bloody mess.

Okay, am I the only one confused?

I hear a gasp. It's…

Wha?

I jump and walk hesitantly over to her. I thought she was dead!

Am I imagining stuff?

Botan gasps again, just as suddenly, opens her eyes, sits up, and puts a hand to her stomach wounds. Pulling her hand away, she realizes, along with Jin and I, that it has gone red and wet. She sits down, panting hard and new tears of pain forming.

I suddenly understand.

Genius… She astro-projected! 

Genkai told me about it! 'You can kill someone or make them insane through astro projection!'

I start to laugh. So simple…

I'm not imagining anything. Jin and I run to her side. Jin starts to heal her with his small gift, and I go the newly defeated Rhiharl. I find the key, and I chop it off the silver chain, trying not to look at or smell the blood seeping down his distorted face. As soon as I take off the key necklace, he vanishes. It figures. Sensu was hoping we wouldn't get it before he vanished. Typical.

I quickly wipe the key on my robe, and go back to Jin and Botan. Botan is white.

As I'm about to say something, Jin quickly says, "Katrina, she's in shock. It's natural. The cuts weren't too deep, fortunately. The shock is just showing up worse because she had severe mental strain as well. Once she comes out of shock, she will be mostly healed. We should wait for that. We can't just leave her here; someone will come along and kill her."

"Well, you're the boss, then. I got the key."

He nods in approval. We wait several minutes, and then the color slowly seeps back.

Botan, without bothering to open her eyes, says thickly, "I'm going to need more time to heal.'"

We don't say anything.

"I just want you to know that I am not running away."

"Botan, what?"

"I'm going to die. Leave me here, and let me."

"Oh, no you aren't. Nice try, though, you coward."

"It's the only way!" She says fiercely. "Dont' make me paddle you."

"You couldn't paddle a mosquito like this!" I say angrily. The wound must have addled her brains as well as her stomach.

"Go!"

"Botan, don't tempt me…" I mutter menacingly.

"DO IT!"

SLAM.

That is the third time I've hit her across the face in panther mode. Jin stares at me in abject horror.

"Why did you do that?"

I demorph. "I'm not gonna let her kill herself, Jin! As far as me and my mental state are concerned, she just died, and I won't let her do it again! I just knocked her out. That's all. I won't let her die. She just killed a major demon, so of course I'm not going to let her die!"

He shrugs. "I guess. Botan did have some amazing strength. That was some true genius at the end. And what did you say it was…astro projection? What's that?"

"Ask Genkai, she can explain a lot better than me. Now then, do you have any bandages?"

"Wha…? Oh yeah. I'll get em." He pulls out his small pack, which resided under his shirt, and a whole roll of ace bandages out of it. He straps them onto Botan's stomach, and when he's done, I lift her up into a piggyback. I give the small golden key to Jin, and he walks over to the stone door, with me following him.

When he sticks it in, the key turns in the lock and it creaks open. Jin and I shrug at each other, and walk down the passageway. I hear Botan stirring on my back.

"Where are we going, guys?"

"To the next challenger."

"I can help…"

"No Botan, you rest."

"Umph." She goes out again.

"That's right. Umph." I say sarcastically. Jin laughs.

"It wasn't supposed to be funny."

"I know."

I roll my eyes in reply, though he can't see it in the dark. Then he asks abruptly, "What will you do when we get to Sensu?"

"Let's worry about the second challenge first, okay?"

"But what will you do?"

I shrug. "I really don't know. Defeating Beauty was just luck, and I doubt I will have the same kind of luck with the King himself."

"That's strange."

"What?"

"Why you do not have confidence in yourself."

"I do."

"Then why do you always expect the worst of yourself?"

"Just trying to keep things in perspective."

He shakes his head. "You are more powerful than you think."

"Yeah? How'd you know that?"

"I can sense it, okay? You will do fine."

"Whatever. I'm not as powerful as you think I am, you know. I'm only as powerful as my dad was, if that. A half-human can't do as much a full demon."

"Do you resent that?"

"I don't know. But my human half is only a burden, that I know for sure. Why do you care?"

He keenly avoids the question. "But being part human and part demon gives you a link for both worlds. That is ideal for a spirit detective."

I glare at him. "Is that what this is about? Did the great Koenma put you up to this?"

He shrugs. "I was just saying that it would work out very well if you should choose that position."

"I don't want it! The glory, the responsibility, the un-normality, the anything! I'm not cut out for the job. That's it.I want to leave this all behind.Why does everyone keep asking me about it?"

"Well," says Jin carefully, "It's what your father wanted."

Silence. "What?"

"Day after day, year after year, he always said that he would love for his daughter to have such a prestigious job. He said you would make a fine detective. He said you loved puzzles, codes, anything to figure out."

"Yeah, well, he was wrong!" All right, I have my fingers crossed. I have always loved puzzles. "He didn't exactly stick around long enough to find out how I grew up!" I shake some of Botan's long hair out of my face.

"You know he's right."

"How dare you question me! I am no Spirit Detective and I never plan to be one."

"Okay." He tone suggests a smile.

We walk in silence. I can't get over what he said. I need to know something. "My dad…my treacherous dad…why would he have thought I would be better than Kurama? Kurama's the strong one."

"Because you are of the rare few who are Two. If you are Two, it is ideal that you help both sides. Kurama may look a Two, but he really just inhabits a human body. He's demon through and through. Look, can you just say you'll think about it?"

I glare again. "Fine, I'll think about it. I won't change my mind, though," I snap.

"Thanks."

"Whatever. This is so taking forever."

"No, no, here we are."

We are indeed to the next unlocked door. This time, he opens it.

As soon as we get in very far, the awful voice of Sensu speaks again. _"The second challenger awaits your fight."_

"All right, bring him on," says Jin. To me he whispers, "I wonder who it is."

"_Not him. Her."_

Before we can ask, 4 lights again flicker on in the same positions as last time.

Now, instead of sliding walls, the warrior is already there, clad all in bronze armor that gives blinding glints. She too has a key necklace.

Oh my god. I'm too stunned to say anything. I almost drop Botan on the stone floor.

"You," Jin whispers, obviously in total shock. "...oh my god..."

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A/N Who do you think it is? TELL ME IN REVIEWS! And god, do you like the length? Seven whole pages! And my record was 4! WOOHOO! And which fight scene did you like better – this one or the one in chapter 17?


	60. Chapter 60

Disclaimer: Don't feel like writing it…and this is a sucky chapter. I am so unbelievably glad I'm almost done with this load of crap story. Read it if you want to.

**Chapter 60: My Very Own Frenemy**

"Me," says Mie.

I can't say anything. Adding to Jin's silence. I drop Botan on the ground and she lands with a thud. There is absolutely no way that this is true. NO WAY. But, why is she staring at me with such inhuman contempt?

She looks behind me all of a sudden, distracted at the sound beyond the door behind me.

Kurama runs through the door, with Hiei and Touya in tow. They freeze when they see the standoff that is happening.

"Mie?" Kurama asks uncertainly. "Um, hey." His eyes travel to the brass armor she's wearing so proudly.

"Hi." She says calmly, but her eyes harden even more as she looks at Hiei, and she says nothing to him.

"Why are you standing over there?"

"I am the challenger." She says, shrugging, as though it's the most obvious thing in the world. My mind tries to process this and fails.

"You're kidding," says Kurama, his face deflating.

"No, I'm really not." The voice is cold and blank of emotion.

Jin steps forward, quivering all over. I suddenly remember---Mie is something of his daughter. He raised her most of his life. "Mie." He says, quietly and deliberately.

One arm of hers twitches, and she rubs it vigorously to quell the tremor. "Yes?"

"Mie, this is not funny. You don't work for Sensu, you work for us. Get over here."

"No. I made my choice." She glares contemptuously at me. "Always walked over by Lil Miss Perfect over there, always trying to be like her, always trying to be her best friend…but she didn't want it. Now she pays. I fight her, and only her."

Jin blinks. He's not the only one confused. I shout, "MIE, WHEN HAVE I _EVER_ WALKED OVER YOU? IF ANYTHING, I PITIED YOU! I _TRIED_ TO BE YOUR FRIEND, YOU SELFISH GIRL! REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE THINKING UP SCHEMES TO GET SHIZURU KUWABARA?" My voice is raspy with rage. "WHEN HAVE I EVER BEEN MEAN TO YOU?"

Mie is quiet. "Well, you chose Keiko over me. I hated that."

"You horrid, selfish girl. For some reason, I thought this was _my_ life. I am not your slave. I can have other friends besides you. Are you seriously telling me that because I was more friends wth Keiko, you were pushed over the edge?" I snort. "Cut it out, Mie." I start up again but Jin silences me with a hand gesture.

Jin moves closer to her. "Mie, why would you do this?"

"I was enlightened by the beast demon Rhiharl. We were in the fog, ready to go to the Spirit World. Botan, Keiko and I encountered him. At that time I was trying to defend my friends. When he enlightened me, I suddenly saw everyone for who they really were – animals. They expected me to defend them. And I had to, to keep up my pretense. I would get them…show them all…what it meant to be powerful. What it truly meant to be right, and on the right side of living."

I'm close my eyes in disgust, praying for patience. She's talking madness. Since when has Mie been like this---ah. That black strike from Rhiharl I saw in Botan's memory. It was Corruption. Mie was so jealous of me; she must have been easy to corrupt.

"Was that why you took so many walks outside?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you, Katrina." She looks back at Hiei, who stares coldly back. "Too bad she got you before I did. You might be fighting up here instead of me."

"You fed me the vairvain?" He asks, sounding...impressed? "Interesting..."

_That's where I remembered parsley! She fed it to him the night I was to leave, and he started acting crazy! She hoped he'd mess us up and get us captured!_

"I can't believe you didn't see it."She turns to me. "Katrina, nosy girl you are, do you want to know who Sensu's queen is?"

I am in shock. "Sensu has a queen? Who the hell'd want to marry him?" Then I regain myself. I wanna know, but I'm not about to tell _her_ that. She's just trying ot make me mad. "**NO**, of course I don't care."

Mie flushes this time around. "I know that is a lie. You shall find out if you can beat me in a match. Fight or run away crying."

"You're on. And at the end, it won't be me who's crying." I say. Damn, that came out extremely cliche. I'll have to work on that.

I step forward to prepare myself, but am stopped by…Jin? "Move." I say, and my voice sounds a lot stronger than I feel. Sure, Mie was always incredibly weak, but what if Sensu intensified her powers into a real threat?

"Don't order me. And you won't be fighting. I will."

"You will? But, she's like, your kid! Surely you don't want to fight your kid!"

"That's why have to fight her. Do you know how to stop corruption? Other than the fact of killing the controller or the person freeing themselves?"

I shake my head no.

"Didn't think so. Only a family member can awaken a true personality. That's me. I have to fight her. If I can't free her, I'll be the one to kill her. It shouldn't be your responsibility."

I absorb these words with difficulty. "But why? She's corrupted, but it's not her fault, and at least, I don't _think_ it is, but you shouldn't kill her."

"She's my mess to clean up. I'll do it. You shouldn't have to."

I bite my lip, but let him pass anyway.

He steps up to Mie formally, but remains a few paces away from me. "Mie, as your cousin and adoptive parent, I'm giving you a chance to come back."

Her arm twitches again. "_Never_," she whispers. "_Just because you raised me doesn't mean you know me_."

"On the contrary, I know you better than you know you."

"No you don't!" She says loudly.

"I do, and you know it."

She pants angrily, and within seconds conjures up a windstorm to dwarf Hurricane Floyd. It's amazing. I stare apprehensively, and try to tug Jin and his insanity out of the way, but he holds his ground. With nothing to hold on to, I am flung backwards agains the wall. So is everyone else, but Jin is unmoving. It must be a wind demon thing. I hit the hard stone wall with a thud and shut my eyes and listen with all my might.

"Mie, where did you get that power?" Jin asks warily.

"Sensu, of course. Now, I'm just like a Shinobi."

"Is that all you wanted?"

I get a sudden burst of understanding. _She was never accepted. Not into the Shinobi, not into school. When I no longer accepted her, when I chose Keiko,she crossed over._

"If there's one thing you taught me, I learned that power is all. That's the Shinobi motto, right?" The tornado gains even more power. My dirty headband flies off, while Touya loses his necklace of ice shards which narrowly miss my nose. I open my eyes so I can actually watch, even though the wind makes them water.

Jin speaks very loudly, "Mie, it's true that the Shinobi takes only those of unusual power. But this is NOT the Shinobi! Sensu kills for pleasure!"

Mie stares, her face contorted in rage and hate. She whispers, "Do you think I don't know about the Dark Tournament?"

Jin looks thunderstruck.

"You entered that to kill other demons for fun. Nothing else. Don't deny it."

He holds up a hand to stop her, speaking very soft. "And did I ever tell you about the rule-free wish granted at the end?"

Mie says nothing. She doesn't want to admit it.

"We went in to bring back your mother with that wish." He whispers.

She looks even angrier. "My mother was a vicious bitch who wanted nothing more than to hurt my father and I. MY FATHER SHOT HIMSELF BECAUSE OF HER! I HAD NOTHING! NO ONE! YOU WERE JUST A COUSIN! YOU COULD NEVER TAKE THE PLACE OF MY PARENTS! NO ONE CAN. AND IT'S ALL…MARITSI'S…GODDAMN…FAULT."

I suddenly remember something. Back when I first met Kurama, I remember yelling like that also, about my dad. Kurama tried to tell me that he just left to help the Spirit World, but I didn't listen, so I transformed for my first time. Did I sound as stupid and irrational to him as Mie is sounding to me? Was I ever truly that selfish?

Jin tries to say something else, but while Mie's power has been growing, she strikes again and again with wind. Jin conjures up his tornado fists and deflects the blasts. I see Mie grit her teeth out of frustration. I can't believe she's trying to kill the only remnant of her family. Why is she doing this?

More wind beams. Me and the rest of the party have to dodge many of them by rolling around on the wall that we've been glued to. He's reflecting them all over the place, and the razor-sharp edges are leaving slits in the walls. She's still building up power, though, which makes me fear what she is capable of.

The wind continues to intensify, creating a total vacuum effect. Her wind arrows are also getting stronger, as she fires up, and far greater in number. Jin is still managing to deflect the majority, though some are leaving bloody papercut-like slits in his tunic and probably his skin as well. Ouch. And his foster child is doing all this to him?

He calls out to her again, his voice barely audible over the storm. "Mie, why don't you stop and we can talk this over!"

"I'm through with talking!"

"No, you aren't! I want to say one thing!"

"Fine then."

"You know your mother?"

"Yes, you'd say I take after her evil streak."

"Listen to me. She died defending Koenma – the good guy! She had to run off! Koenma would have been killed!"

The windstorm falters for a second. "You lie. Sensu has records of her working for his noble cause. I follow in her footsteps now, in the same evil path that she walked. It was my destiny, and now, I fulfill it." She keeps going with the attacks.

"How accurate do you think those records are?" Jin says, in between dodges.

She gasps, trying to find a way out. "V-very authentic!"

"What would your father think of you now?"

She gasps. "How dare you. HOW DARE YOU! WHO CARES W-WHAT HE W-WOULD THI-THINK?" I detect a trace of tears. She must have ben very close to her father.

"All right then. But I wanted you to know the truth about your mother."

Mie's face contorts in anger again, but it seems to be against her will. But still, the windstorm picks up where it left off and whirls towards Jin. Ironically, he isn't trying to dodge. What is he thinking?

"JIN, YOU FOOL, GET OUT OF THE WAY! SHE'S INSANE!" Yells Touya.

He pretends he doesn't hear. I brace myself for the impact of razor wind against flesh.

Nothing happens? I open my eyes. The windstorm is there in all of its might, but Jin is still standing. It seems to have stopped, inches from him, a storm whirling death.

He just looks at Mie with this scary I-know-what-you're-doing look.

I look at his subject matter. Mie's stark white. Her arms are now really twitching horribly. She isn't saying anything.

"Miyoko Aya Fennko, put away that storm now." Wow, that sounded like my mom.

"But I follow Sensu! I FOLLOW SENSU!"

"Leave Sensu."

At this she opens her mouth and screams, as if every part of her is aflame. Her windstorm flickers and dies within seconds. But instead of dropping to the ground, she continues to hold her head and yell things that I can't comprehend. Probably some kind of demon language.

Jin runs up to her, supporting her. She still hasn't stopped flailing, though.

Jin shakes her, but nothing happens. He looks concerned, but then it is replaced by an emotionless mask. "Well, it was her choice." He sits down, amidst Mie's anguished screams. He lays down her small writhing body.

"What?"

"Guys, go on without me. I have to be here for a while. Just…get Sensu. Get him now."

I start to ask another question, but Hiei covers my mouth with a warning glance. Jin tosses him the key from around her neck, and we proceed to the stone door nearby. I look again at Jin, but his face is still wiped carefully free of emotion, blue eyes blank as he looks over his pained daughter. What had happened to Mie back there? Whatever it was, I know it couldn't have been anything good.

As I leave, I hear Botan stand up behind me. She whispers, yet her voice is very audible, "Jin, tell her more about Maritsi. I-I think she'd like to hear it."

All the hurt in the world couldn't compare to what that sentence just gave me.

As I leave for the stone door, I think I hear a catch of speech. But it's none of my business to listen in to. I'd hate it if it were done to me. And it's probably just about Maritsi anyway.

I help support Botan and go on to the hallway that leads to the next room. It's the one of Sensu and his queen.

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A/N I know, I know, crappy way to end,and this was just a plain bad chapter, but yeah.So much for a fight scene, but I had to make it sentimental at some point, so this was it. I finally got around to Mie, I am so glad, I thought I needed to x her out to make the story flow, but this had an opposite effect. I am finally finishing up! WOOHOO! But the next chapter will not be her fighting Sensu. It will be talking and a mother POV. Don't be too disgusted! Oh, and last chapter, I wanted to clarify one thing. You know how Botan made Rhiharl go insane through astro-projection, yet in my astro projection rules say the victim must be asleep? Well, the reason for that is because he was holding Botan's paddle. She channeled her soul through it, and so got into his teeny little brain even though he was conscious. I didn't know how to explain this any other way, so that's why this has been revealed in an author's note. Bye, and review!


	61. Chapter 61

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 61: NO, THIS IS NOT A FIGHT SCENE! 

As I walk down the pathway, I realize what a weakling I am.

No telling why I am thinking this, but suddenly; seeing Mie torture herself; I realize I'm not as strong as her. She can fight the most powerful demon in the world, but I can't. Silently warring with Sensu, all in her mind, too. She was just confused, and so weak, but she can fight him. That takes power.

I catch up to my brother and talk. I need to talk. I'll drive myself crazy otherwise. Living with my brain can be very trying. "Kurama, where are the prisoners? You know, Yusuke---"

"They were in really bad shape. Hadn't been fed at all. They were just delirious with hunger on tiredness, and wouldn't have looked out of place in a mental home. So, we left them with some meat and crackers in a broom closet."

"Is there something special about broom closets that I should know about?"

"Well, Katrina, you started the trend. First yourself, then Hiei. It's your entire fault."

"It is not!"

"Katrina, don't talk so loud!"

I look at him. "May I be so bold as to ask…why?"

"Because you see how it's dark here? This is a fine opportunity to be sneaky. And being quiet really helps to be sneaky."

I'm not sure if Jin does it on purpose or not, but all of a sudden he starts to hum really loudly. I almost laugh.

After about 5 minutes, Touya mutters, "Look, is it just me, or is this taking a long time?"

"Well," says Kurama. "We _are_ going underground."

"We are? Why am I never informed of these things?" I ask.

"You just don't pay attention. Notice how the walk is slanted downhill? Well, duh, that's why. The rooms we are heading for is where they guard the most important prisoner. Our father. Along with Sensu and his queen." He thinks for a moment. "Who do you suppose it is?"

"I don't know." I say. "I mean, could be anyone, right? Probably some ugly old bitch with horns, blue skin, and 10 eyes. Who cares?"

"Somehow, I don't think so. Didn't Mie think it would be tantalizing to make you guess?"

"Yeah. So?"

He rolls his eyes. "She must have thought that you would…oh never mind. I can see you don't get it. Never mind."

"Whatever, works for me. We'll find out pretty soon, right?"

"I don't know. Shall we ask Hiei about his special zippy to get there faster?"

"Special zippy? You're supposed to be the one with the huge vocabulary."

"Would you rather me say we ought to inquire Hiei regarding his idiosyncratic exceedingly eccentric alacrity?" (Basically means his amazing speed)

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Idiosycral ex…ex…what?"

He smirks. "My point exactly. I use small words so as not to confuse my dear little sister." He pokes me in the forehead…hard.

"Ow! You little---"

"Tall." He corrects.

"Shut up and stop staring at me."

"It's pitch black. I can't even see you."

"I can see _you_ staring at me, though! I'm a kitty, remember? And not just any kitty, like a leopard or housecat. A PANTHER! IN YOUR FACE!"

"Yeah, yeah. But did you know that a panther and a leopard are the same species, whereas the panther only has a darker coat?"

"How-how dare you! Where's your proof?"

"Okay then, morph for me, please."

I oblige. I'll show the know-it-all.

"Now look at your paw."

The others have turned around to see. I grin at them sheepishly and mouth: "It's his fault!" Hiei shakes his head, highly annoyed.

"Now, squint very closely."

I do. And OH MY GOD! I HAVE FAINT LEOPARD SPOTS!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…"

"You see the spots now?"

"Um…NO! YOU ARE WRONG! ALLLLLL WROOOOONG!"

"Uh-huh. That's why you are breathing hard and you have just demorphed."

"Don't you dare compare me with a scrawny…flea infested…polka dotted excuse for a cat! All it does is sit in a tree all day on the African savannah and attract flies to every rotting carcass it drags up there! It thinks antelope are toys! And that is just wrong! If you want to eat an animal, you should kill it! Not toy with its death!"

"You know, that's pretty much what panthers do, you know."

"Hah! But they don't live in Africa, now, do they? Gotcha there!"

He looks at me and starts laughing. "Is that truly your best excuse?"

In case you are wondering, this really is not helping my mood. "Yes, beat it, punk!"

He continues to chuckle. "You don't have to be in Africa to lay around in trees all day. Which is exactly what your mortal cousins do."

"Wha---that---you---that is so not true!"

He smirks. I speedwalk suddenly and pull ahead. The jerk! Not letting me win the debate! He and I both know he was bound to win somehow…he could have at least have been a gentleman! (RebelWriter, this is your relationship with Ben).

Then, I get a great idea, and I start to talk to Kurama again. "Did you know that foxes are cousins of dogs?"

"Yes, I did."

"Did you know dogs are distant cousins of cats as well? That means your kind lies in a tree all day too! You're related to me!" I puff out my chest.

"Didn't we know that already? I'm your brother, correct?"

"Uh…"

"Yes, we did. And I, unlike you, do not sit in trees all day. That's your job."

"ME! When have I been sitting in trees?"

"I've seen you many times sitting in the sakura tree in Koenma's garden, just slacking off."

I shrug, giving up on getting mad. It's hopeless. But if you can't beat him, join him! "Kurama, you have got to tell me how you find comebacks to anything!"

"All right. It's all up here." He taps his forehead. "Leave it to the gifted ones, Kat."

OOOH! I take my word back! "I am officially not speaking to you anymore."

"Good. I'll get some long awaited quiet."

"Why are you acting like this?"

"Acting like how? I won't know if you don't tell me clearly, right?"

"Acting like a jerk! Act like Kurama, not this macho punk!"

"This is Kurama. Me."

"No, you just don't get it."

"What are you so mad about?"

"That you won't stop acting like a jerk!"

"Why? This is the older brother version of me. It's about time I acted like an older bro than just an acquaintance."

"But I liked you better the old way!"

"But I like this way just fine. And it's my personality, you know. Not many people know that. Feel privileged."

I emit a frustrated screech and fall back to think of ways to stump him in an argument. I never realized until now how much I like to debate when I'm terrified.

Meanwhile, At Katrina's American Home, We Have Katrina's Mom POV:

_Man, it has gotten so quiet around here. Ever since Katrina left, life has been a big bore. There's nothing to do but go on the phone, and even that can't interest me now. Listening to Erin Shaw would drive me insane. Or at least make me even more bored than I am now. It was ridiculous to send her away – I had no idea how lonely I would be. _

_Daydreaming isn't helping either. I keep thinking she will meet up with her father over there. Ever since my husband Tatewaki had run off, followed by the kidnapping of our son, Suuichi, by his own father, I had been very paranoid, even placing dating restrictions on Katrina. I was just always so terrified that the same thing would happen to her like it had to everyone else in the Kon's seemingly cursed family. What if she ended up with someone who would be as horrible as my first husband or as insane and strange as Tatewaki Kon, my second? It was awful, living in fear all the time, but I did not know what else to do. I can still picture us all so clearly, my son, my husband, me, my newborn daughter, we had such a future. Then, when Tatewaki had run off with my 5-year-old son, all of my life shattered. How dare he take a child that he didn't even father! I was determined to protect my daughter at all costs, and I never got remarried, terrified of the same thing happening all over again._

_Damn it, why did I allow her to go? NO, I even pushed her into it! I'm such an idiot. I'm going to live in paranoia the rest of my life, or at least until she comes back. And the horrible thing about Tatewaki is that Katrina still doesn't know what he did; how he destroyed our family. She'll never meet her older brother; Tatewaki probably killed him later. But if she meets him, and he guesses her identity correctly, then there's no telling what will happen. I loved Suuichi, and when he was stolen, I thought I would die, but I got through it because of Katrina, and now my son is just a distant memory. But if Katrina were to pull a Suuichi… _

I shudder and I finish putting away the dishes and pick up The Scarlet Letter again, but it is possibly the stupidest book written, and it's also very boring. No one comes to the house anymore. Not Lizzie-Kate Benns or any of Katrina's other friends, or even my friends either. I just haven't been talking to them enough lately. They got tired of it, and stopped talking.

My life has become one huge tedious never-ending cycle of nothing over the last few months. And it all happened because I sent Katrina away. STUPID!

I wipe away a tear in frustration, accidentally scratching myself.

I brush my long hair out of my face.

_I need her back._

But wait! Shouldn't the school year be ending soon? I could pick her up early!

I stand up without hesitation. Preparations must be made. I need my passport…and those lovely lace blouses I just bought the other day, some travel snacks…

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A/N Oh what am I talking about; I have to end here. I know, crappy time for a humorous chapter, and I really hope you weren't too disappointed. And just think of the mother's plans: where is Katrina really now? Will her mom find her? Oh, of course not. You think I'd be nice to my characters? It's going to be interesting when Mrs. Kon arrives in Japan…and that's right. Tatewaki Kon is her second husband. So…who was the first?

But next chappie…no fight scene either. I'm sorry.


	62. Chapter 62

Disclaimer: Forget it. You'll just have to suffer without one.

Chapter 62: The Door 

"Hey, guys!" Yells Touya from up front.

"Yeah?"

"We've come to a door! Only…it's just…weird…"

Kurama and the rest all run up to his position. There is indeed a huge door, but there is a strange circular blue thing blocking our progress. It flashes green and gold menacingly every now and then, and looks like the Spirit Portal Koenma opened for Hiei and I. About 3 inches width of plushy door is underneath it. Strange…why does Sensu need a fluffy door?

"Kurama, what is it?" I shout.

"Some kind of demon guard method called a Dimension Hole. Sensu obviously does not want to fight anyone who has surpassed his two strongest fighters. The coward. This must be why the demon Benuir failed."

"Benuir?"

"A demon under Koenma's control, sent to test Sensu's strength. He must have launched himself into the circle after defeating the two previous guards before the ones that you guys fought."

"So, this swirly thingy could really kill you?"

"No. It's a dimension warp. It casts you randomly into a different dimension."

"That must be uncomfortable."

Everyone swings around to glare at the owner of this comment. "Well, it's true!" Jin protests.

"ANYWAY," says Kurama in a final sort of voice, "the main problem is to figure out how to get around it."

"Well, there is that gap at the bottom. If we were tiny…"

At once, everyone stares raptly at Botan and I.

"What?" Asks Botan.

I just groan. I hate shrinking.

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"So then, tell me this twisted stupid plan again?" Says Botan.

Touya rolls his eyes. "You and Katrina are going to sneak under the Dimensional Hole thing and see if there is a way to shut it off from the back. Then we will follow."

"All right. But why is it Katrina and I and not you guys again? I for one am through with shrinking."

"I second the motion," I say.

"Well, you're the ones that have more experience."

"That's not fair! You could learn it in three seconds, damn it!"  
"I know, Botan," I hiss, "But let's just go, this is the perfect chance to get them out of our hair."

She sucks in her breath angrily, but eats a crystal just as I do, and we shrink down to ankle height. It's no more comfortable than it was before. I think my spleen just shrunk out existence entirely. I rub my stomach.

Without once looking back, we both go under the Dimensional Hole and get a good look at it from the back. Even on the other side, the hole still makes a nasty whirring noise. I shrink away from it and touch the door, which is pretty fluffy and plush. And indeed, towering above our heads, is a huge yellow switch right in the door fabric. I can see it bathed in the blue light of the hole, and see that the switch is probably all that's keeping the Dimensional Hole in check. But there's no way I can grow upward, because then I would touch the Hole and I would travel to Zero Space, yet I can't get to the switch any other way. Botan and I start to discuss different means of getting to the switch, each idea wilder than the last. Botan even suggested that we grow wings.

"Botan, can't you just use your paddle to fly up and hit it?"

"NO! Rhiharl broke it."

"He did…?"

"Yeah, he fell on it! You know when he slumped to the floor? See? This is what's left!" She pulls out a fragment of wood.

"Oh yeah, I guess I didn't think about where the paddle went. I just assumed you had it."

She snorts. "I wish. Maybe we could grab onto the fabric?"

I shriek. "I GOT IT! I DID THIS EXACT SAME THING WHEN I FIRST SHRUNK!"

Botan looks at me in abject horror. "What are you talking---"

"Ask me later." I reach into my pocket and pull out my remaining 3 medicine bottle shards. "I used these to climb up a cloth wall back in the day, so let's go."

"Katrina, we have _3 shards._"

"Yeah, let's go!"

"No, I think you misunderstand. We have_ 3 shards._"

"Oh yeah, that would be a problem…"

"Guys," someone says from outside. "We're WAITING."

"SHUT UP!" I scream. "Anyway, how could we use these best?"

She looks back at me. "We could just use our arms to pull the rest of our bodies up. It shouldn't be hard, cuz we're both pretty thin…"

"But then one of us would get only one shard, and that wouldn't work."

In a pissed off way, she brandishes her piece of oar. "Ah…"

I really don't give Botan enough credit sometimes. Who else would have thought of using _that_ as a shard?

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"Are you there yet, girls?"

"IN A SECOND!" Botan and I shout in unison. Pulling ourselves up has proven quite simple, but the trick is hitting the switch. We have to let go of our fragments, and then jump up and hit it. Since Botan is longer than me, we decided she'd do the honors.

"Go, Botan, go! You're almost there…"

Her fingers are outstretched, and she's just shy of touching it.

_Little farther…_

Her fingers a micrometer away, Botan's weaker wood shard that she was balancing on snapped. Botan is going down. We have a woman overboard. I don't have the chance to grab her wrist before she falls down, down, down.

I watch in stunned horror.

The sight of her blue hair wreathing her panicked face…

Then, I feel a huge rip on my robe, and most of the frayed material comes completely off, barely obscuring my body. Thank God I still have on this damn school uniform. "Botan!" I'm so used to her pseudo-deaths that I'm barely shaken. "Hurry up and climb, you're dragging me down."

"Forget it," she says, panting raggedly. "_You_ touch the switch. If I move, down goes the robe, down goes me."

"It's not a rope, it's them hem of my robe!" But I can see her point. I climb up a little further. My hands are really starting to hurt. My arms will be swollen for days.

_Almost there…_

My fingers quiver.

_Little farther…_

_Beep._ I touched it.

_Creeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaak_.

_The door really is opening._

I hear Botan's little gasp, and my cloak rips a little more as the door swings inwards. I hiss at her to shut up and wait for something to come out.

Nothing does.

I breathe normally again, and hiss to Botan, "That's not the switch to turn off the dimension hole. It was to open the door."

I feel her nod.

I look down. There's no way to get off.

So, I grit my teeth and force my fingers to let go of the shards. I hear her scream and she lets go of my already ripping cloak, and we both plummet to the floor miles below.

I hit hard, but my martial arts training taught me how to deal out my weight so that I don't hit very painfully. Botan on the other hand, seems to think that I may be used as a cushion.

SLAM.

Just picture me with the halo of birds around my head, Botan spread-eagled on top of me.

"That's payback for the three times you slapped me as a panther."

"Damn it, Botan, you know you did that by accident."

"No, I didn't."

"Then pay the consequences."

"AHHHHHH! OW! NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONOOOOOOO!"

"Guys, what is going on down there?"

A green-eyed redhead peeps his airhead underneath. "You should've…whoa. How'd you get the door to open?"

I shrug. "Picked a button. Pressed it. Voila."

Botan adds, "But the Dimension hole can't be stopped." When Kurama looks confused, she exasperatedly pops out. "Here, I'll show you. There's no switch—"

No sooner has she stepped out than the Dimension Hole expands, lowering the gap to a sliver and eventually making it disappear.

I watch in shock. No one seems to notice until seconds later. I hear frantic shouting on the outside.

I get as close to the Dimension Hole as I can without touching it, and shout, "Guys, can you hear me?"

The yelling stops. My brother says, "Yes."

"Listen, this was a trap. Sensu wanted to get me alone so he could trap me in here. I have to go alone. We don't know how to crack a Dimension Hole or if it's even possible and we don't have time to try. Let me spy on him."

"Ridiculous. It's too dangerous."

He starts to say more but is cut off from someone outside, and the deeper voice suggests Hiei. After a while, Kurama speaks again, in an unmistakable tone of great annoyance.

"We'll be working on this thing. You stay right there, do you hear me? Don't move. This will only take us a little bit."

"Right. I will." I say, with every intention of not listening. It could take them hours. I need to at least find Sensu. Stay in hiding. Maybe I can find a weak spot while I watch him. Then I can wait for the others to help me fight him.

I swing around, my heart thudding painfully and walk to the door. It swings open even farther invitingly. I hold my breath and walk through.

The first thing I notice is the huge heighten in temperature and it grows very dark again. The walls are slimy. Instead of freezing, I start to sweat almost instantly, and am soon gasping for breath. This place is like a sauna that got caught on fire. Or how most guys describe Jessica Simpson. Is Sensu a fire demon? Yeah, probably is, and he must be strong. No ordinary fire demon could take this for very long. I'm part demon and already sweating it.

Though it is very dark, I am seeing a light at the end of this tunnel. That is not figurative; I really do see something bright in the distance. That's probably where Sensu is. I can spy on him from there.

I trudge toward it, dreading inevitable heat stroke, when suddenly a wave of cold hard power hits me. Though it cools me off, it chills me to the bone. _Such energy…what am I fighting?_

Rejuvenated, I pick up my pace, and eat a random crystal to grow tall again. As soon as I am normal size, or so I think, I sneak towards the light, growing closer every time.

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A/N Okay then, you can all read the next battle chapter now! Go on! Scat! But I think I should have just molded this and the other chapter together. Oh well, too late now.


	63. Chapter 63 Part A

**CHAPTER 63: THE CLASH: PART A **

**Part I: Introductions**

I'm going bonkers. I am going to eat myself soon. I can't figure out what is going on.

I've just snuck toward the light, but I'm not making any headway at all. Maybe it knows I'm here or something. Oh god.

I really hope I'm wrong. If Sensu knows I'm here, I am so a goner. My brain is melting with the heat, I have to pee really bad, and I'm starving. I have to keep out of sight until the other people get here, and they can finish him off while…while I watch. I'll be of no use. I hate fighting. Kurama and the others can handle it. I know I haven't actually ever seen Kurama fight, but he must be good, right? Better than me.

I sigh, and stare at the light. Is it even really there? Am I just seeing things?

I don't know, but one thing is for sure, if it's really there, I should have reached it by now.

I sit down for a short rest. One little rest…I start to calm down and my breathing rate lessens. I am so hot beyond belief…

Then, almost at once, I feel alarmed. My instincts scream at me that something is wrong. I'm sensing something…but what? It's not him! Not this soon!

I feel something with very smooth, oily skin brush me past. I jump a foot in the air, my own normal skin tingling, and stare behind me. Nothing.

I start to breathe really fast, stand up, and pick up speed again. I pant harder, but that does not stop me. When driven by fear or excitement, I can do some pretty amazing things.

Then I notice that the light is getting closer. Too close, in fact. There's no way I am bringing myself that fast towards it. There is mathematical certainty there. As is grows brighter and closer, I see that it is narrow and almond shaped; black and white. There is no longer a greenish glow; instead, it is glowing black. Yeah, yeah, I know, you can't have black light, but this thing does, I swear!

It suddenly comes right next to me, in a very abrupt fashion. I suddenly see what it is.

It's a single enormous eye giving off a brilliantly black sheen. I'm being blinded by black. I gasp, and try to retreat from it, but it moves with me, watching me.

So much for a sneak attack. He already knows I'm here.

It blinks, and stares hungrily at me. I discover I can't look away from it. Another eye that was previously closed to the left of it opens, so now I am staring at dinner-plate-sized eyes that have inky black pupils and irises. I hear massive breathing, but I cannot see the rest of the face in the darkness surrounding us both.

It really _is_ him. HIM. Oh God, why did it have to be _me_ who fought him?

The eyes move away from me, as if it is surveying me from a distance.

I must be brave. I can't show him my fear. "What do you want, beast?" I'm surprised and impressed at how courageous I sound. It must be the fact that I'm just downright stupid. What was I thinking, trying to sneak in unseen? _What the hell was I thinking? It's been nothing but pain and suffering the whole damn way!_

"Your autograph."

I glare into the eyes.

"I thought I told Parasi to tell you why I needed your father and you."

Parasi. I suddenly remember. Didn't he say Sensu wanted to fuse the human and demon worlds with the help of Sakyo's research or something? Yes…

"Wait…you planted Parasi there so we'd catch him?"

He chuckles. "Of course. He's acted as a very nice spy."

_Koenma, you idiot! You didn't kill him after you questioned him?_

"I told him to tell you about the operation. Humph. You can't get good help from anyone. They're as bad as humans. At least once this operation is done, I'll have spirit officers. Much more useful. All I have to do is get you and your father."

I start to ponder this. Why us? What makes us special to this? '_You and your father have incredible demon power._' That was what Kurama had said. And it must have to do with this.

Then, I see. I am completely enlightened in an instant. Everything makes sense now in my brain. The thing that makes us different. Sensu doesn't need _us_. He needs our _energies_. _Our demon energies._

Why didn't I come to this obvious conclusion before? "You needed a power source to make it all work, didn't you? Our powers are your fuel, aren't they?"

The dark football-field-sized room I'm within (when did I get to a room?) suddenly glows with light from above, and I fully come to grips with the fact that it is no longer hot, although my brain is so melted that it doesn't matter anyway.

Even weirder is that I am now staring up at a huge throne, enormous next to the other smaller one. One holds a vividly snow-white man with pointed glasses and dark hair, and on the smaller sits a grey veiled maiden in a grey dress. So then, is that weird guy Sensu? Or Tigoro? Well, whatever it is, it is no Mr. America.

I can feel my knees trembling. This is IT. It's really him. The mysterious demon that plans to destroy everything I and everyone else holds dear.

"I can give you that autograph now." Wow. Do I always make such bad jokes when I'm terrified?

He smirks, a cold cruel smirk unlike any human's I'd ever seen. He has a very ripped male human's shape, but he must be a demon, right?

"What are you? Are you even a demon?" I have to know. I've wondered for so long.

"I am evil. Evil does not always have a simple name. I am everything and nothing."

How the hell am I supposed to beat that? He removes his glasses for a second and looks into my eyes. His are so piercing. I look away, and my eyes rest on the woman.

"She is my queen." He sees where I'm looking.

I remember what Kurama said about Mie thinking I'd be shocked if I knew who it was. I stare at her, but I can't place her. She fidgets a little. Who could she be? And why does she have a veil?

"Would you like to know who she is?" He says. He—he's teasing me. He certainly is…strange. Isn't there a bad guy rule that you have to be cold and morose?

"N-no. I want to defeat you. I-I don't care about anything else." Man, I sound really pathetic. My knees start shaking harder, which doesn't help matters.

"Don't lie to me, girl. I know you're curious."

He can read my mind? Or was it just a lucky guess? 

"I won't keep you waiting." Sensu nods to the demon queen.

The grey woman, nods, moves her hands and slowly starts to remove the veil.

Time moves at the speed of a tortoise. And then—

With a rustle and flourish of grey silk, it's off. She has eyes that once had dark pupils that have had a horrid transformation. Brown iris lines an ivory pupil with insanity. _What_?

**Part II: Revelations**

_Eyes glowing ivory with insanity… _

_Back when Mie was stabbed… _

_God damn it. Of course…_

"_Beauty."_ I whisper.

Lahri grins, and I finally recognize who it really belongs to. "Took you long enough to figure it out. I thought after the Farina drug incident that I was done for." She smirks, a look of Lahri's I had always wondered about but could never place. Now I know where it came from.

"Of course. It all makes sense!"

"Do you finally figure it out?"

"God damn it, I thought I killed you! Why couldn't you have _just_ _stayed_ _died_? How the hell did you survive?"

"I wasn't dead. It was all because of you that I wasn't dead."

"Give me a break. I watched you die!"

"True. But not like you think. I'll get right to the point. Even _you _deserve to know why I'm here today, and as it's such an amazing success story, I think you're going to like it."

I cough loudly, for some reason it resembles 'pompous bitch'. How very odd.

"The day you killed me, or my physical body, you did not destroy my soul. I believe you saw me, as a silvery spirit whooshing out of my disintegrating dragonish shape, but you thought simply that was Mie's stolen power. Having listened to my master's talks about Kurama, I knew the only way to return was to flee to the human world and inhabit a mortal host. I searched, and finally found a weak beggar girl. She was dying of starvation anyway, so I extinguished her remaining soul and inhabited her body, this body." She touches her skin lovingly. "After that, I reached out to my master with my mind and set up a plan. He was annoyed that I had failed to capture you, but was willing to take me on again, just because I was such a good mercenary."

Sensu coughs loudly just like I did, and I would have laughed if my situation had not been so serious. She, Beauty, doesn't notice.

"He said that you were bound to come by shortly, to open the Spirit World portal Koenma had set up for you. He has many spies within the quarters. Indeed, shortly after, I saw you and Hiei come around, in Tokyo, when you came off the train. So, I tailed you, and grabbed onto Hiei's cloak to follow you to the portal. When I got into the Spirit World, I separated you from your friends, and found Sensu. We decided that it would be best if I could act like I was kidnapped, in my newly acquired human form, so then you would come. We knew that you would be the one because, well, let's just say that we nudged your teacher Genkai along to make her see that sending you to rescue me would make a fine test for you. Of course Koenma agreed, he's terrified of her and her unrivaled strength. I took the Commir so you would not be able to call for backup during this crucial time period, if for some reason you should be given the time to do so. I must compliment myself…I even fooled the great Katrina Kon when I went on that Whiris. Boohoo," she mimes with her hands. "_Oh Katrina, please save me!"_ She smirks. "But you escaped, so we had to go for the next best thing: I would serve as a spy in the quarters, along with Parasi and Mie, eventually luring you out while giving Sensu valuable info on the Spirit King and his movements.

"But after you 'rescued' me, there were some flaws. I had not counted on this human's body dying slowly, for I was in for a rude awakening – the correct soul needs to be in the original body for the body to live properly. While eavesdropping to find out anything useful, I overheard a conversation between Genkai and you right outside Koenma's office. When you hijacked Genkai's body, she told you about the Farina drug and it's properties. One of those properties were exactly what I needed—to keep the human body alive. After that, it was too good an opportunity to miss, so I stole some daily, but I was caught several times by both you and Kurama. But Genkai was such a sound sleeper, when you were not around I had nothing to worry about. When Mie staged getting kidnapped by Sensu in front of Keiko, and traveled back here, we all waited for you. So, I'm happily fine and here you are. The wait is over for me."

"Happily? _Happily? _I must have something in my ears—"

"SHUT UP! The day in the garden when I was to apologize to you all to try to earn back my wallflower status, I went crazy. That was because of deprivation of the Farina drug. My body was dying, and I could not take the pain. When Genkai tried to figure out what was wrong, she felt me—my presence in the human's body. I hit her so she wouldn't remember. And well, I think you know why I smashed the Deceit Sensor early on. I couldn't let them find out, naturally, so the day Koenma was to get another one, I was conveniently kidnapped again, but that served as a double function to lure you here."

"You bitch. That whole thing was staged."

"Yep."

"But _why_ Mie? She was so innocent!"

"She was slanted towards evil, well, jealousy and hate so to speak already and lived in Koenma's palace, so she was ideal. She only needed a teeny little nudge to go over to the dark side. When the late Rhiharl found her, he knew she was perfect, for he sensed her evil feelings toward you, Keiko, and the Shinobi that shunned her. She's been following you a lot more than you realized. Anyway, she kept asking you about me because she wanted to know how much you knew about me, and whether it would be best to kill you right then and use your spirit energy later. We had a common boss. We helped each other."

I clench my fists and teeth. _Mie really did want to kill me…_ "Did it not bother Mie that the bitch who nearly took her life with an illegal knife was now her teammate? The knife _in your bedroom?_"

She smiles evilly. "She never knew who I actually was, I made sure of that. If she did know, there was a good chance that she would break herself out on her own."

"You bitch. You had bird posters in your room because you are a crow. The knife was Beauty's. Why didn't I see? Why didn't I figure it out?"

"You're stronger than your brother, but much stupider." She smirks again.

I hiss at her. "Drop dead, you ugly little—"

"Shut it. You are in no position to be insulting _me_. Not when you're so close to death. My _husband_ will take care of you easily."

On cue, he stands up. I ask boldly, "What happened to your hairy green face? And they told me Tigoro died! Are you his spirit?" I have remembered that he looks like a white version of Tigoro in Genkai's memories.

"I'm anything I want to be. And Tigoro isn't dead, but it wouldn't matter if he was."

"…What?"

He removes his triangular glasses. Again, he has such piercing eyes! "Child, you do not understand. I suppose you know he went to the limbo? Well, he is still there, in constant suffering, constant pain, and he will be for 10,000 more years. The limbo works by slowly stripping all parts of your soul except for the ability to feel pain…including me, the demonic or evil portion of his confused soul. The evil, in the real world, eventually rematerialized into me. I am the crystallization of the evil within Tigoro, and this evil that makes me up cannot be stopped or swayed. Eventually, I plan to make human and spirits alike see my views. I not yet have the power to do so. The Spirit Army would be too much trouble to tackle now, and so I need…a power source, as you said earlier, to fuse the two worlds to considerably weaken them. In short, a consistency of energy from the souls of two incredibly powerful demons." He glances at me hungrily. "I knew of only one demon with the potential. He was your father, Tatewaki Kon. He was no trouble. I wiped the floor with him. He had no chance in hell. I captured him, and set to work trying to discover children of his that might have had his bred strength.

"The first and most obvious was Kurama. I did not know of him when I attacked them, so I foolishly did not try for him either. But, it all worked out for the best. Kurama has none of your father's genes."

"WHAT! Does that make him my half-brother!"

"It's true. Your mother had him from a previous man."

I'm in shock. _Why did he never tell me?_ Oh my god, I am so going to kill Kurama after this. "Why did it work out for the best that he was not related to Tatewaki?" I ask, my voice shaking.

"Well, to be honest, it was Beauty's death that set my sights on you. Who heard of a thirteen year old half demon defeating a full blown pureblooded one? I knew you were special, and this was confirmed when I realized who your father was. Your mother, too."

"Mom?"

"Your mother is a quite amazing person. Shiori Minamino has some excellent Spirit Power." (He is using her mother's maiden name because she is a feminist and does not believe in changing the woman's name).

"Wha-what? My mother is a demon?"

"No, but she does have energy that I am not sure she has discovered yet. In fact, watching you battle Beauty, I realized you must have her strength as well. Kurama can use his fox powers although he is now human because of her essence. Have you wondered why you have so many useful side-powers, like your bubble and fireballs-"

Damn, he even knows my attacks! 

"-While other demons like your friend Hiei only have the added gift of speed or healing? That's her strength; mixed with and thus reinforcing your inner demon. But still, it is your father's genes that made you who you are."

"Where is my father? Show him!"

He motions for Beauty to tick a switch on the arm of her chair. I feel a muscle in my cheek twitch uncomfortably. An overwhelming state of mixed emotion has befallen me. I'm being a lot calmer than I though I would be.

A wall on the far side flips over just like that, (this is also the wall that is attaching Sensu to it), making a huge scraping sound of stone against stone. It makes my spine tingle the way fingernails on chalkboard do.

When it flips over, I see a huge golden dome with more than its fair share of dials on a large steel panel in front. So that's where the cords to Sensu are initially connected to. And inside---

Inside is a rugged looking man with untamed long black beard and hair, and his eyes are open. I can clearly see within them a great intelligence. But the most startling thing about them is that they are a dark yellow, like…well, you know.

_This man is my father._

I can see myself so clearly in the chiseled features. That's my nose, and definitely the hair. He looks so much like me. I hate that.

I stare at the face, hoping to spark some sort of recognition, years gone. Nothing comes to me. He never read me a book. He never taught me how to ride a bike. He never even bothered to watch me grow up.

One half of me wants to punch him so hard the earth will shake. I want him to pay for what he did to me. What could be more important than your own family?

The other half of me is not present to vote.

"Get inside."

I'm hardly hear Sensu. I see the golden eyes of my biological dad's flick over to me, and settle there. I watch him evenly, and I stand up a little straighter, and engage in a violent staring war and fail instantly under that powerful glare.

Instead, I study the cage surrounding him. Aside from being chained with binds like mine were, what looks like laser cannons are pointing at his chest. He's probably been zapped quite a few times, knowing my enemy, who I imagine is quite laser-happy. Aren't all major bad guys laser-happy? Why should "the crystallization of the evil within Tigoro" be any different?

Thinking about him, I look back at him to see him smirk.

"Are you really that surprised to see how much you look like him?"

Would he stop that already? "That isn't my father. I have no father. A real father wouldn't have abandoned his wife and daughter. He did it all without regret, and I can't ever forgive that." I take a deep breath. "But I still can't forgive you, either. For taking this all away from my family and from the earth. And you will be the one who pays the price."

Why the _HELL_ can't I make any good speeches today? And they said I was good at English!

**Part III: Initial Battle**

Suddenly, red fire flares up around him, and I can tell by the smell of burnt oxygen that is not a Spirit fire. He's changed into a fire demon.

I suddenly realize my huge mistake. Oh God. I threatened him. I told him he'd pay. Oh no. He's going to come after me now. Where are the others? The others that would fight this battle? Kurama, Touya, Botan? Why was I so stupid? I've done stupid things, but this tops them all. How could I have been so naïve as to think I could be undetectable by Sensu himself? I just counted on Kurama and the others showing up in time to stop this. And look where it got me.

Not for the first time, I regret not listening to Kurama and staying put.

He advances towards me, and heat washes over me, getting stronger and stronger, until it was just as bad as when I first walked in. On my hands and knees, I shrink away.

I look down to the huge door that I came through. It's closed. It must have shut behind me. They are on that other side.

"Your friends aren't coming." Sensu says in a final tone, reading my mind again.

I gasp. What did he do to them?

I stare at the door some more. They…they aren't coming. They are really not coming. It's that simple. I am alone.

I stare at him in horror. I…I have to fight. There's no one else. I have to fight him…alone.

I start quivering all over, but summon my own blue power so it makes a kind of flame around me. I stand up, barely managing to stay upright, and glare at him to mask my fear. Oh god oh god oh god why me?

He looks surprised at my flame. I hesitate for a split second. I'm…I'll be honest. I'm probably not going to survive this.

But I can't just go down meekly. If there's some small chance I can pull this off, I'll take it.

Suddenly, I go for a head on charge to see if he can block me. Before I really power up and fight him with everything I am, I need to know what I can and cannot do. He smiles, and when I'm two feet away from him, he blocks easily with his forearm, hitting my forehead. As he comes up for a knee kick in my stomach, I jump up on the thigh, leap into the air, and aim my legs for his face. _It's a warm up with Genkai…that's all…try to beat Genkai…_

He grabs my legs like toothpicks, throwing me off balance and tosses me aside. I spring back up into the air, aiming my legs for his arm this time, and he dodges all together, flashing to the left, making me land safely on the ground behind him. I whirl around and go for a sweeping kick, and he just jumps a mile up into the air, avoiding it, and aims his body to land right on top of me. My eyes widen. I dodge to the right, but trip over my own fat feet, and fall flat down, right on my knee. Damn. I grab it and start to rub it. Come on, come on, I just need to get back on my feet.

Sensu lands softly where I was and stares at me on the ground, a smile playing around his lipless mouth. He's not even trying to hurt me. He knows my weaknesses, and he isn't even trying to hurt me. I start shaking again, on the ground. He's holding back and he still can read my every move.

I crab-walk away from him, but all too soon, he grabs my foot quickly, yanks it up, and hangs it, and me, upside down. When my and his eyes are level, he speaks. "Why are you holding back?"

"I'm…not." How'd he guess so fast?

"Fight me like you fought Beauty."

"And what a fight it was!" She chirps from the background.

"Nrrgh." Actually, I can't. I'm not warmed up enough. Once I have exercised a little bit, then my power exponentially increases. I'm not wasting power until it's at the maximum level.

He drops me on me on my head. He moves away, watching me, and stands in front of my father's cage. He turns his back to me. I sweatdrop. _What is up with this guy?_ But then I see him take wires from a little stand next to the panel and he connects them to his back. As soon as they are slightly implanted in his flesh, they drive themselves further into him, like roundworm parasites. Blood drips from the 4 wounds, staining white skin. I look away to avoid being sick. I have never had a strong stomach.

What are you doing? I wish I could scream. 

He looks at me expressionlessly. "What does it look like?"

He's reading me again. I have to do something that he's not reading. I have to use the spirit energy now. I'm not warmed up, but I have to. He won't be expecting that.

I summon my power to my hands to make molten fireballs of sapphire energy. Without warning I fire it, full power level. Hehe. There's no way he can get out of this one. If he moves, the contraption gets blown up, and if he doesn't, he gets severely injured. My brilliance amazes me when I'm panicked.

I start to relax.

He sidesteps at the last second, and my beam hits the panel, like I thought it would. Instead of blowing up like I thought and hoped it would, the panel fizzles with electric electricity, and it turns on the lasers within the cage that I noticed earlier, and my dad gets zapped with red frap rays. But that's not all. Both my father's yellow energy and my own blue power that I fired travel through the cords. The power hits Sensu, and he glows a brilliant green, and he increases dramatically in size. The control panel, on the other hand, looks like nothing hit it. Damn! So much for _that_! It _benefited_ him, of all things!

Oh, what have I done?

"Did you really think I'd fall for that? All humans are the same." He laughs cruelly, and I notice his voice has deepened further.

555555555555555555555

A/N Part A is over and done! Review please! And next chapter, I've included a tangent about her mom. So, don't be confused about the first section!

Also, I'll be posting the next chapter 2 days after the original right up until the end, so in a week, this story will be done, damn it. Finally I can work on Elves, Kara, and Everything He Knew.


	64. Chapter 63 Part B

**CHAPTER 63: THE CLASH: PART B ****  
****Part IV: Katrina's Mom's POV: Mother's Surprise**

"I _told_ you, I am _Shiori_ _Minamino_, and I am here to pick up my _daughter_, KATRINA KON! She has a different last name than me, okay? What room is she in so I can get her?"

"Kon, dind oo say? Little _Kasumi_ Kon-_kun_?"

_Kasumi? _"N—!" Oh wait. Katrina wrote me a letter about the name situation. Something about they couldn't pronounce her real name well or something. "Yes, Mr. Yoshiyumi-_san_, was it? Okay. My daughter, Kasumi Kon." I say. This person is possibly the stupidest person I have ever met. It doesn't help that my Jap is very out of practice, since I moved to the states…what was it…16 years ago now? The principal is _attempting_ to speak to me in English to help me out. And he is failing miserably, and it's only agitating us both.

He shuffles through his haphazard papers, and finds what he's looking for. "Ah, HEE-YER 'tis. The file of Kon-kun." He opens up the contents and takes out a half-sheet of pure white paper. He reads it, confusion registering on his face. "Hm?"

"What? What is it, damn it?" I ask, worried at his expression. I add hastily, "Mr. Yoshiyumi-san."

The really, really short secretary looks over, sees my anger, and takes over, mouthing that she can speak English. I sigh in relief, and so does the principal. She glances at the paper the principal is holding, and her eyes widen as well. "There seems to have been a mix-up?" She asks in a very off-the-topic voice. She hands me that paper. I read, in very good Japanese handwriting, (which I can read much better than I can speak it) something along the lines of: _Left on February 19th with Mr. Tatewaki Kon. _

I just stare at the name in stunned disbelief. They must have gotten it wrong.

I stare some more. It's really there. That same name. That evil, evil name.

How could he have found her? 

"Is there a problem?" She asks in an eager voice.

I can barely manage to get the words out. "Thi-thi-this man is my ex-husband."

She turns up her nose just slightly at the thought of divorce. "And you didn't know he came to take her?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" I can hear myself. I'm hysterical. "We-we-split up 14 years ago—and he left me and took my son—and neither of them were ever found—OH GOD! N-n-now he took Katrina—"

Her eyes widen in disbelief. "We were not informed of this! Mrs. Minamino-san, I'll start an investigation immediately—"

I don't hear the rest, and I really don't care. I'm halfway out of the school.

But the assistant catches up with me, and captures my arm in a grip of iron. "Wait!"

"Why?" I snarl. "I need to find her. I need to." I can't believe it. He stole my daughter away. First my son and now my daughter. This can't be happening. If he disappears with her just like he did with Shuuichi…I will not lose Katrina like I lost Shuuichi. I refuse. I futilely try to tug her off.

"I have something important to tell you!"

"DO YOU THINK I CARE?" I scream. "THIS IS MY DAUGHTER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT!" Passerby in the hallways stare. I shoot them all a piercing glare.

"Maybe we can help." She says, ignoring my outburst, and is still being courteous.

"I'll ask if I need it, all right? Goodbye! I'm going to find _Kasumi._" I say meanly.

"Shall I show you the rules, Miss Minamino-san?"

"What rules?" I growl.

She whips out a pocketbook and thumbs through it. Finally she takes out a book emblazoned with the title THE BIBLE OF THE JUN LADIES BOARDING SCHOOL.

Oh, excellent. Sounds full of laughs and fun and pretty pink ponies.

She starts reading: "Rule 8, Clause 1, Section 1. Under the rare circumstance where a student should go missing, it is the secretary or principal's responsibility to help the distressed parent locate him/her."

"Ha! But it doesn't say you have to!"

"Yes it does. Here: Rule 8, Clause 1, Section _2_. No matter what the parent says, the school shall always help no matter the circumstance, as we are responsible for the student."

I forgot. I don't have quite the same rights here as I would in an American school, but she can go fuck off anyway. "Well, under this _circumstance_ I am feeling quite _distressed,_ so I advise you to get your ass and your stupid rule book out of my face. Got it, honey? I'll sue you for every penny you have if you don't let me go this instant!"

"No, you aren't allowed to sue us if we're trying to help. See, it says here Rule 8, Clause 1, Section 3…wait, come with me, I'll read it to you in the office and we'll have a nice cup of tea. We can help better than you can. Japan has an advanced law enforcement system. We can see if she was meeting anyone strange."

I allow her to drag me away, too worn out to argue. Japanese people are sharp. I should remember that. I hope Katrina didn't pick up of anything about it.

Oh God, where is she? Tears come to my eyes.

"You could do nothing on your own, Miss Minamino-san. Trust that we can make more a difference than you."

I sigh. They're probably right. I would have no idea where to go. I had no idea where to find Shuuichi or the man that stole him away.

As she is taking me back to the chief office, I pass a classroom where I see someone with short red hair, who's tall, and has his back to me. I stare at him, and the secretary stops. "What is it?"

"Who-who-who…" I start stuttering. I remember that red hair. That tall form. That body shape. If he'd turn around, I'd know exactly who he was.

"Who is he?" She asks. "Well, that's Akito Spinacheli-sama. He's been here for about 14-15 years."

I start trembling. Fifteen years ago. "Is he now…a teacher?"

"Yes, of ninth grade English. Why?"

Oh no. Katrina might have had a class with _him_! WHY HIM?

I faint right on the spot. What is with these fucking coincidences? I thought I only had to be worried about my SECOND husband…

**Part V: Katrina POV: Electric Shock**

Sensu moves back in front of the evil cage again, as though I'll actually fall for it again.

"Forget it."

He only inspects his hands casually.

I stare angrily. He really is holding back. He refuses to attack. That means, now's my chance. I have to floor him with power before he has the chance to really hurt me. My knee has already been a casualty, and I don't plan on having any more.

I morph, and my transformation is a black blur. Somehow my robe stays on by a few measly tatters. Also, inexplicably, I am about 3 feet longer, taller, and wider.

Weird. Since when have I been able to control my size?

Whatever. Why am I literally trying to mess with the best thing that's ever happened to me? I should really stop analyzing everything and go with the flow.

A wave of intense cold over sweeps me. I realize his mental roulette has landed on an ice demon. He looks no different other than his temperature, I guess because he was white to begin with. But god, he's an excellent one. I can feel the winter chill all the way over here, and neither of us has moved an inch. Touya and Yukina weren't a third of that power _combined_.

I charge faster that I ever have before, being so much stronger. I get an instant brain freeze as I get progressively closer, but it doesn't stop me. Aww no. I will not die.

My mind randomly shoots into a tangent about my mom. All these funky little powers came from my mom…I'll have to thank her someday for her genetic material, which she has no control over anyway…and ask her just how many husbands she had. I mean, my mom _is_ really pretty, but still! That doesn't justify it!

I spring into the air in the last second, and he does nothing to stop me. But I think I know why.

He uses Hiei speed to duck down, trying to send me into the control panel again so he can suck even more juice out of me, but anticipating it, I end my leap abruptly, and land right on his head. The intense cold makes my paws feel like they are on fire.

I relax and sprawl, trying to crush him while at the same time trying to bear the pain of all this icy power. I feel a slight struggle from him, then a second's relax, and then, just like that, Sensu stands up, me somehow balanced perfectly on my belly, draped all over his shoulders and head like some kind of scarf. He straightens easily. I'm 1000+ pounds and he's carrying me like a child's toy.

He starts chanting something, sending shivers down my spine. I can't move or I'll fall.

I admit, I almost wet myself over what those words will do, but I still can't move, so I actually control my fear and I just fold myself over his head. I almost go hypothermic right then and there from the cold, but it carries out its purpose and smothers the chant. I hear a curse from in the folds of my now-really-really-cold panther body, and, enraged, he grabs both of my left paws in his own two hands, leans back, and chucks me really, really hard over his head without hurting a hair on his head. This guy is incredibly strong.

That might have worked with anyone else, but not with me. What he forgot is that cats always land on their feet. I spiral in the air and easily deal out my weight as I hit the ground, and I whirl around, growling evilly. I stare at his bloody face, trying to see what he'll do next. I have to wait for him to act. A head-on charge won't work. (All right, all right, it's not like I'm _trying_ to get close to that temperature again).

I have just enough time to watch him disappear. He simply melts away into thin air.

I blink. What just happened? I stare all around me. He isn't there. He isn't there either! Where is he? Where did he go? What just happened? Huh? Huh? What?

Can Sensu camouflage, too? 

I hear Lahri…no, Beauty, cheering in the background. Hatred fills me with that laughter, temporarily blinding me to my surroundings.

At that precise moment, I feel a presence behind me, a cold blast of air, but I can do nothing as a panther. I have stronger skill as a panther, but much lower evasion than in my human form. I whip around as he interlocks his fingers and slams them down, aiming right for the middle of my body. I dodge at the last moment, and he only glances my right side. I fly to the left, farther than I had planned. His hands strike the ground where I was with a crash, cracking the ground and vibrating my entire body, throwing me off balance. I jump and manage to remain on my feet, somehow. I stare at his cold white face and the huge smoking crater he just made. Such incredible power…

"Keep fighting and die." He thunders. "You are only—"

Before he finishes his sentence, I charge again, foolishly not even considering the temperature of his body, and he knocks me to the side in an instant, but using my forearm as a sword, I prevent taking full damage. His hand slides up my arm and wrist, only just grazing my forehead instead of my face. I knew all those simple lessons…all right, that _single _simple lesson with Hiei would come in handy sometime.

He hits me again with a deadly side kick to my shoulder, using my vulnerability after that dodge, so fast that I have no time to block. This time I do a spin in the air and slam into the floor considerably harder than all the other times. Getting right back up, I charge again. My panther side isn't even making a DENT! I haven't hurt him one bit! DAMN IT! I fly into the air to jump down on him.

I shiver suddenly in the air. Is it just me, or is he getting…_colder?_ My teeth start to chatter in spite of the situation.

But my intuition comes too late. I'm too far into my bound. I try to bitch-slap him with my paw, and he merely shoves me away with that ugly paper-white arm, hitting my elbow just slightly. As soon as I touch him, my entire arm freezes.

I gasp, and look at the icy blue crystals surrounding my arm. I try to move. Nothing. My arm is frozen in a bent fist. Rapidly, I lose all feeling to it.

I hit the ground and I don't even notice the pain. I start trembling and demorph out of the cold. The ice still perfectly imprisons my human arm. I can't concentrate on my demon form to keep it going. Now, it hits my just how vulnerable I am. And how much Sensu can take advantage of that.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT.

Sensu teleports in front of me again, hitting me with a blast from the arctic, and backhands me in the ribs backwards really, really hard. I yell and fall down right on the flat of my back, feeling my chest freeze over. No. No, I need to breathe! AND I NEED WARMTH! My trapped lungs can only muster a tiny breath. I need MORE AIR! I start to breathe really fast, but it just doesn't count. I need more. I'll die.

I need to get up. I need to fight back. I need to breathe. I need to fucking _survive _this.

Help me, someone! HELP! I can slowly feel my systems shutting down, molding my soul into the white death. 

"No one will help you." He becomes a lightning demon complete with the ridiculous DragonBall Z Super Saiyen neon yellow hair, which looks odd in contrast with his old thin black hair, and strikes me with some lightning. I can't dodge, all of my vitals frozen over. Thankfully, it's _because_ of that that I barely even feel it.

Then, something truly shocking happens. I shut my eyes and feel the slight charge in a far off corner of my mind, and then…it restores my body temperature. I can tell right away when I stop shivering and I can see clearly again. All of the ice slowly becomes a husky vapor around me. What the hell? I lay there, in shock, breathing somewhat normally, (although in a considerable amount of pain) being able to feel my arm and lungs, the hypothermia simply ebbing away peacefully. I keep my eyes shut, hardly daring to believe it.

Why did he do that? Why did he…heal me? 

Then, it hits me. He couldn't let me die. He needs my powers. If I'm gone, they're gone with me. He—can't—kill—me. Oh my god. This is…

I gasp as the full pain of my broken bones rushes back to me. Did I actually think that the fact he couldn't kill me was _good? _He won't kill me, that's for certain. But he _will_ beat me to a barely-living pile of flesh. He's waiting to see if I'm alive right now. If I show him I'm alive…it'll commence. And I can't do anything.

Now is the time to act. I can't let him keep getting the better of me like this! A thousand ideas start to form in my head at once.

No. Whatever I do must be impulsive. He can't read my mind that way.

I pray hard that my decision does what it needs to, and I instantly sit up and conjure up two more fireballs in my hands. Without warning, I shoot my hands together and open my eyes, combining the two fireball beams, and I fire the deadly new beam at Sensu.

His eyes widen and he does nothing. I finally got him off guard. It doesn't take them half a second to find their prey. They hit their mark dead-on and a huge cloud of ash forms around him quickly, smothering his huge form. Some of the tendrils of smoke find their way over to my mouth and I start coughing and I can't stop. When the fit finally passes, I look up into clear air and have to do a double take – Sensu made the same hand motion as I did. I see the remains of my beam fade from his hands. He smiles. He…wasn't…hurt…one…bit.

_He_ _caught_ _my_ _energy!_

He nods, impressed. "That was an interesting move. If not for my mind reading ability, you would have gotten away with it."

_The move wasn't impulsive enough. He had enough time to read and mirror me and inevitably defeat it. Why, God, why?_

"You would make a great minion if I didn't have to use you. Nice brains up there." He walks towards me, and my hair stands on end from the electricity, even though I back away. "You've convinced me. If you want to make this as painless as possible, you can just hop in the other dome."

"Other—?"

At her cue, Beauty trips some kind of switch on her chair arm, and a second golden dome, identical to the first, rises up next to the machine. My father looks at it warily. A door opens in front of the dome by itself. Hard silver binds for wrists, waist, neck, and ankles attached to the inside clink together hungrily. But the funny thing is, there are no lasers in my dome, but there are in my dad's.

The realization hits me. _He doesn't think I'm powerful enough._

"Just stride in, and it will all be over soon. And if you do it the easy way, you won't even die. I'll just take your powers and that'll be it."

"Why? Why not destroy us?"

"Do you _want_ me to? Corruption is so much more fun. I could just do it right now, but no one's given me a good fight for a while now. I haven't been able to stretch out my true power for months. You'd better hold out for a very long time if you still aim to fight, Katrina, because after, you'll work for me unconditionally."

I grow cold again, both mentally and physically, just imagining the awful prospect. "I'd never do it." I turn back into a panther, starting to get my focus back.

He zaps me hard with some electricity, leaving me slightly smoking. But an idea hits me at the same time. I yell to cover up my idea that I just had.

"You wouldn't have a choice." He advances towards me, flipping rapidly from a thunder demon to a water demon, his legs becoming the sea, a dark blue sea slowly rising up around me. Beauty shrieks and crawls to the very top post of her chair and eyes the water like a cornered cat. Crows don't like water, do they?

_THIS IS NOT FAIR!_ I scream inside my head, since I can't talk as a panther, I'll talk with my mind. I try desperately to think of everything except my plan to help me out of this. If he reads my plan, I am completely, completely dead.

He chuckles. "Of course it's unfair. Did you think I'd give you a chance to seize victory? I like winning too much. You lose."

_Heh_. I chuckle in my mind.

"There's nothing funny about your situation." He states with a sneer. Then, he gives me a funny look, and stares at me, hard. _Oh no. I thought of my plan. God damn it…A-B-C-D-E-F-G-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8—Diffusion is the movement of particles down the concentration gradient…A noun is a person, place, or thing…5+510…oh god oh god this plan has to work—NO! DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!—DON'T—NEWTON'S THRID LAW OF MOTION IS THAT OBJECTS IN MOTION TEND—_

It's too late. That thought just made my dumb brain run through my plan again. He's found it all too soon. I get the feeling of a bulldozer driving through my mind. His eyes widen in shock.

I shut my own, breaking my focus on my secret weapon, and cram myself into a really strong bubble, the strongest I have.

I hear a huge _CRACK_ in front of me, the jolt of electricity. _Did it…did it truly work?_

I open my tightly closed eyes, to get jolted as my bubble drops about 5 feet. The spirit sea has disappeared, leaving behind thin smoky smog, and I don't see Sensu. I absorb my bubble hesitantly, keeping my mental and physical guard up.

I hear a roar from beneath, and I jump out of nerves. Is that…is that really…did my plan actually work? No…no, don't get your hopes up…I stare down at the roaring thing, completely scared.

I can't believe it. If this is a fucking trick…

As the smog evaporates quickly, I can see that it's definitely Sensu all right, but nowhere near as immaculate as he was. He's a mess, all brown and smoking like the air around us, and did I forget to mention that he is also two inches tall? The wires that connected him to that foul cage (which allowed him to suck out my power) disintegrate in moments. Beauty screams as she looks upon her husband, and Sensu holds up a hand to silence her.

"How did you do it?" He drops to his knees, and crawls away from me. I stamp on him like I would a tarantula, and hold my foot over him. He still struggles, but naturally gets nowhere. I can barely even feel him.

"Didn't you already _see_ it, you damn psychic freak?" I sneer.

"No…I only saw part of it…before it happened…"

"Fine. Do you remember zapping me the second time?" I say cockily. Something tells me I shouldn't be this cocky…it shouldn't be this easy…oh, who the hell cares? I won. I _deserve_ to be cocky.

He nods with effort.

"I charged a shrink crystal with the energy, and to prevent you from seeing it, or from it burning me with it's charge, I made it fly with spirit energy. It was so small, you never knew. You were stupid for not reading my mind to find it out."

"Bonehead." Mutters the bride. "What that would have accomplished I have no idea…" She sounds very nervous though. I turn up to glare at her.

"I'll ignore that, Beauty. When you became a water demon, I realized how right I was to do that. All that water was zapped and shrunk at the same time when the crystal hit the water." I smirk, and ready a fireball to destroy him. Beauty gasps. "Now you die, you piece of scum."

Ironically, he smiles. Beauty, meanwhile, cries. I'll take of her later.

"What? WHAT!" I tense up instantly, and start to fire my power. I need to get rid of him before he has the chance to show me what he's smiling about.

It's almost at firing point when he waves his tiny right arm, and then, I hear a piercing shriek in my very soul, like fingernails on chalkboard, and I freeze. Completely. Not even the fireball fires. I can't even blink. I'm not breathing. My heart isn't going. Sensu smirks. "You don't know all of my powers. Do you think that a simple size change would defeat me?"

I was so goddamn cocky…why didn't I see? He wasn't beaten. He was just smaller. 

He runs over to Beauty. "Beauty?" He asks.

"YOU ARE A GENIUS! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONE AND—"

"I asked you a question." He says in a deadly voice.

She gasps, and I can just see her, in my mind's eye, curtsying to him. (I can't look at them directly. I'm left staring at the place that Sensu was). "My deepest apologies, my lord. What do you require form you humble servant?"

He says something very quietly.

"What's that, Lord?" She chirps, sounding lighthearted. "I'm afraid I didn't hear you. What do you need?"

Then, a huge bright red glow commences, probably emanating from Sensu, even brighter than my bright blue beam still in my hand. All this color is making me dizzy. I wish I could shield my eyes.

_But what does he need? _

**Part VI: Like Magic**

"_Your life energy."_ I hear his low voice hiss.

_WHAT?_ I scream in my head to make him hear me. 

She seems to be stunned for a moment like me, judging by her long pause, and then she screams, "_AGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH_!" I hear rustling, as though of a skirt. She must be trying to run.

_No…not like this…not even she deserves this…_

"It is your time, my dear. Rest assured that you will be put to good use."

_What use? What does he need her energy for? _The spell he put on me breaks suddenly, and I almost fall, catching myself just in time. But when time unfreezes for me, it unfreezes for this huge energy beam too. I shoot it out of my hand against my will and it hits the ground with deafening power, and bright azure light consumes me. I scream and I can't even hear it above all of this incredible power.

I'm actually thrown backward by the force. I fly through the air, screaming my soul out.

I land about 10 yards away from the site right on my lower back very hard. I cringe, feeling at least one rib break. That brings my total of broken bones up to 3.

And I hear a terrible bloodcurdling scream, in a far off corner of my mind. Beauty's dying. I should help her. I should I should I should…

I manage to pick myself up, using all of my strength, but the smoke is much thicker than before, and unfortunately, until it clears it's going to be impossible to see. I stumble through it, trying to find anything to hide in. I can't call up a bubble for protection yet. I drained a lot of my power with that last blast.

I suddenly feel very vulnerable. I can't see. And thus, I can't defend.

I don't even have time to think when a huge white fist comes out of the fog around me, slamming me in the stomach. I gasp, and fall rather ungracefully right on my ass.

Stunned. _That fist was big. But Sensu is tiny…_

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?" I yell. It can't be…he couldn't have…I think I just figured out what Beauty's life force did for him…

"I can sense where you are by your thoughts."

I receive another deadly slam in my stomach. I double over. Oh God, it hurts to breathe…even more so than when my chest was frozen…"Sh-She healed you?"

"Of _course_ she healed me, fool. I _married_ her only for a _sacrifice_ in case something like this would happen. And now I see how right I was to do it." His voice echoes in the semi-solid fog. Another fist comes out and slams me, this time in my bad knee.

I feel something snap, and I cry out, unable to contain the pain. I crumple right down on the floor. I try to get up, I really do try…but I just can't. I can't. I can't…I can't defend or attack. I'm beaten. Oh, why was I so cocky?

"But she was…your wife…" The smoke finally starts to clear. I can see his silhouette, even bigger than before.

He shrugs. "Sometimes, you have to use others to get ahead."

"Damn it, you don't kill allies, bastard, no matter what side you are on! It's called honor! And you have none of it."

"Hahaha. You're such a strange creature." I feel a huge foot sitting on top of my back, forcing me down. The air is much clearer down here. I can see another huge white foot right next to me.

I don't even respond. This scumbag doesn't deserve my conversation. My eyes still crossing, I summon my demon power, and I go panther again. As I grow, I force his foot off of me. It slides off of my back, and the instant I feel free, I charge (on three legs) far away from him. This is really dangerous. Until the smoke clears entirely, I can't let him touch me. I can't sense his thoughts, but he can sense mine.

I finish recharging and cover myself in a bubble to bide my time. I shiver inside it. I think my right knee is broken. What can I do? I need to get rid of this fog if I have a chance! Sensu will follow me any minute and probably shatter this shield with a flick of his pinky! I need this fog out of here so I can defend!

Wait a minute. I shot away the fog in the spirit world before. Why not here?

If this works, I am definitely never going to ask for anything else again. I shut my eyes and dive into my power. I stretch it, mold it, and shoot it outward, along with the surrounding fog; slowly pushing the remnants to the very edges of the room, where it's free to diffuse on its own.

But I can't see Sensu. Where is he? I look behind, straight ahead, left, right.

I'm forced to let my bubble evaporate, because I can't hold the size of it for long, and I actually sense his demon energy from above. I screech (yes, a huge panther can screech) and I charge out of the way, just in time to prevent his blow. He slams his hands down on the ground, actually shaking the floor, and I almost lose my balance. I spin around. He starts to lift up his arms. There. He just dropped his guard because of that move. This is my chance.

Before he can regain his form, I spring into the air in his general direction, my belly facing him, claws and teeth bared, ready to slash him into tiny evil pieces.

At the last instant, when I'm sure I have him, he extends his arms and grabs my neck with both his arms in a blindingly fast motion.

He grabs and holds me in a vicious strangle. I stare at him for a quarter of a second. He lifts me up so that my feet don't even touch the ground. Beginning to panic, I start to struggle with incredible strength, and _nothing_ _happens_. This is potentially the scariest moment of my life. All my strength means nothing at all. I try to slash at his arms, missing with each swipe, and in response, he slams me to the ground on my back, and picks me right up again, clenching my throat between his hands even harder. I summon demon fireballs, but he gives me such a sharp squeeze around my neck that I lose focus and delete them accidentally. I gasp for much needed air, but he doesn't let up. I start to twitch violently and begin to lose consciousness because of this horrible suffocation. No…no…no!

Dazed and distracted, I barely notice that he walks very carefully with me to the dome. I stare behind him, trying to escape; trying to figure out how to breathe through my ears. The small body of Lahri lies there, several feet behind him. Her long brown hair obscures her face. She's definitely dead. I feel a strange sense of loss for the girl that never was anyway.

Beauty didn't kill me, and I didn't kill her either. This guy killed both of us. Who would have thought? I beat Beauty without any training, but this guy is everything I am and better. The training did nothing. I'll be sure to beat Genkai to a bloody pulp for all that.

I try again to hurt him, but I'm too weak, and I end up waving my paws in desperation. I start, literally, dying of suffocation, and he loosens his grip just slightly to let me breathe. He can't kill me _now_. Not yet, anyway.

I need to kill him. The good guy always wins…right?

I stare at Beauty's human form, getting further and further away, and at my uniform behind her. It must have fallen off when I first transformed. I've worn that thing ever since I fought Beauty, pretty much. Gross. Maybe there're remnants of veggie crap in there too.

Radishes.

Wait. A. Damn. Minute.

Aren't they poisonous to all demons?

When I rescued myself from the window ledge, did I not discover I still had radishes?

Must—capture—radishes—

Deprived of air, and as close to death as I'll ever be, I suddenly get a huge burst of adrenaline, and start thrashing around, loosening Sensu's grip even more, and then, suddenly, I demorph.

My skinnier neck and head slide right through his fingers. Why didn't I think of that before?

I gasp hard and cough several times, and I drop to the ground and spring right back up, darting around him, killing my hurt knee, before he has the chance to react, and start to run faster than I ever have in my life towards the school clothes. I might just be able to get past. I camouflage, feeling my exterior slowly disappear.

"Radishes, huh?" Sensu says dryly. Damn, I forgot! Camouflage does nothing as long as I'm thinking! I always knew thinking was dangerous.

I will win this. I must. I'm the good guy. I will get those radishes before him.

Then—

Another grinding shriek sounds it's warning call in my mind. And I stop moving, frozen in the air in a huge bound. No. Please no. Not this again! NOT THE TIME FREEZE!

I stare at the uniform in horror as Sensu teleports directly over to it and conjures up red demon power in his hands. I can only watch as he shoots a pretty thin beam at it, which is more than enough to reduce it to a pile of smoldering ash.

I stare at the pile. It's gone. The one weapon I had is gone.

And I still can't move.

Sensu seizes his opportunity. He vanishes, and I hear a rustle behind me. A huge forearm slams into the middle of my thin human back, breaking the spell by touching me, but slamming me forward about 20 yards. I shoot my arms in front of me in time to prevent myself from going face-first into the ground but with a big consequence.

I try to stand up, and I can't. I actually can't get up.

I seriously cannot feel my legs at all. Did he…did he break my back?

I hear him behind me, and he sends a powerful judo kick to my side. I actually scream as I fly to the right at 100 mph, and I can only feel the upper part of my body hit the wall. I cringe and drop to the ground, ending in a huge broken heap. "Agghhhh…"

I feel my blood running down and soaking the back of my robe.

What the hell can I do now if I'm officially a paraplegic?

I can't do a bubble. I can't become a panther. I can't camouflage. I can't shrink or grow. And I can't astro-project. Wait…I _can_ astro-project…don't mind me…

I slowly push my dying hand into my pocket. I know at least I have these in this robe, unlike the last huge radish mistake on my part. My best weapon is now totally burned. Literally.

I pull out a huge mound of crystal pills, and hold them tightly in my hand. Then, I astro-project.

Floating in the air and staring around, I see that Sensu can't seem to see me. Yes. I, my spirit only, look down at some of the purple shrink crystals and the orange growth crystals in my living hand. Genkai always wanted me to find out how to move objects in this form on my own, and I never did figure it out. Now, I have to, if I want to live. I move my spirit closer to them, and I get very close, fully aware that if I touch my body, I'll get sucked right back in.

I shut my eyes, and touch the purple pill that I want. I get an electric shock, and all of a sudden, I am the pill. I _am_ the pill. I can't see nor hear, but I know I'm a pill. It sounds like a warped version of yoga. I smile. Of course. Genkai never said that you could only possess _living_ bodies…now, I can fly over in this pill and make him eat me! God, that sounded wrong.

I try to fly again, like I did in my soul version, but now that I _am_ a pill, I have all the _limitations_ of a pill. I can't fly. I can't do _anything_ when I'm a pill. I can't hear or fly. Damn. I can only see, for some odd reason. Do pills have eyes?

Sensu warily goes over to me. He looks shocked. I'm dead, at least from his point of view. I gasp at my own brilliance. Why didn't I think of astro-projection before? He can't kill me, and now that I seem to be dead…I've just thwarted his plans majorly.

He bends down and shakes me, his shock turning to rage. He yells things right in my ear that I can't hear very well, being a pill and all.

Then comes the jostling. He shakes me so hard in the hopes of waking me up that the pills in my body's hand start bouncing. Up and down, up and down. I start flying right off my palm. Up and down, again and again. I keep gaining in velocity each time.

Then, the turning point in the war happens.

I bounce up so high that, by a 1-in-a-million chance, I and a few other purple pills land right in his paper-white mouth.

Me, the pill, gasps in delight, as I fall right down the throat. I can hear Sensu hack. I fly through that paper-white mouth with my other pill friends, down the slimy esophagus that looks like it has never been used, and abruptly take a detour out as soon as my vessel hits his stomach hydrochloric acids. Or at least, it is probably those acids; I can't remember the name now…damn…

I reenter my unconscious body and once I am back safe, I just relax, wait, and take calming breaths to ward off puke. I see Sensu, still coughing strangely. Then, with a little poof of a cloud, like a mini of the earlier smoke cloud, there is a little tiny Sensu staring up at me 10 feet away.

Kneeling down and inching closer, on my hands only I say happily, "No more wives to sacrifice."

He growls angrily.

"It's over." I WON! But something doesn't feel right. It's as though I'm overlooking something.

I direct some of my remaining Spirit Energy at the dome to break out my father. Nothing happens. The blue charge simply dies when it hits.

"Only I can open it."

"Whatever you say." I bind him in a bit of my dwindling demon energy, making a sort of bubble cage around him. That'll keep him from growing big again until I can break out my dad. I have no more energy for fireballs. I damn can't kill him.

He slams himself against the inside, but can't get loose. Yes.

Whatever shock Sensu's feeling at this outcome, mine is ten times more so. I won. I can't believe it. I did it all by myself. I crawl over to the panel with all of the buttons on it. I don't know how else to describe it. I have no idea what any of it means. I pull myself up with my arms to see it and the cages properly.

I go over to my dad's cage, and I can sense him still staring at me. I haven't looked at him this whole battle, and I won't know. However, I admit, I sneak a sideways glance at him and I can see him mouthing something with a look of horror on his face. I turn around to make sure Sensu is still there. He's sitting calmly in his cage and just watching me. Weird. He isn't even trying to break loose. What's my dad thinking? Maybe those lasers hurt his head. Sensu has given up.

I just inspect the small door to the yellow dome, and try to break it with about ten different types of Tai Chi. After about fifteen minutes, I can see that I'm getting nowhere. They're too strong.

Maybe there's some way to break my dad's cage from the inside, but I can't see it from right here. I look at the dome that I'm supposed to go in. Maybe if I went inside it to see for myself if it had a soft spot somewhere, I could instruct my father to crack it internally without my help. Sensu's right, only he knows the code to open the door the easy way, so I'll just have to work around that.

Ignoring all instincts, I crawl over to the dome meant for me and open the door. I take a deep breath. It opens easily with a little _screek. _I go inside of the dome, pulling and folding myself carefully through the door, careful not to hurt my dead legs or snap myself in or anything weird like that. Something bad could happen.

I inspect the inside carefully, feeling for any cracks with my fingertips. I shut my eyes, because if you shut your eyes, all of your other senses get sharper, including the sense of touch.

I keep feeling, and then my sharper-sense ears pick something up.

_Screek._ A slight little whine, sounding loud in my ears. That sounded awfully familiar…

_Was that the door shutting?_

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A/N MWHAHAHA! I have chapter ending power at an evil cliffhanger, so this now ends Part B! Please review! And the last bit of this, Part VII, is in the next chapter, and then we have the true chapter 64, and the extras page. So, we are almost done, folks! Just three more to go!


	65. Chapter 63 Part C

**CHAPTER 63: THE CLASH: PART C  
Part VII: Ultimate End**

My eyes pop open and I stare at the control panel in a panic, and see my old enemy playing with the knobs with the eye of a wicked, deranged expert. And he's right back to normal size. The cage of power that I put him in is nowhere to be seen.

"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" I scream. My dad mouths something from his cage that I still can't understand.

"I can become anything I wish. Need I say more?" He says with a smile.

Oh…my…god. I didn't remember that. My dad tried to tell me that he could morph right back to normal size! If I had just been watching my dad, I could have counteracted that. But no, I was too damn cocky! AGAIN! No, shut up, this is no time for guilt, damn it! I need to get out of here!

_Excerpt from my mind: If I keep thinking that I've won every few minutes, no one will believe me when I actually DO win. _If_ I win. I'd better keep that in check better next time._

I hammer on the dome angrily, but then, so subtlely that I don't even realize it, the binds on the back of the cage sneakily snake around my arms, legs, stomach, and neck, and slam me backwards against the plank of metal behind me. He's not risking my escape. I feel terminals connect to my back, attaching themselves of their own accord. I can feel them just penetrate the top of my flesh. That is _never_ a good sign. I've watched enough horror movies to know that I'm in for a lot of pain.

I fidget some more with the strength of frenzy, but the binds have limited almost all movement, so instead, I try some spirit energy, but the binds absorb all flares before they even get out of my hands. I have no demon energy left to try anyway.

C'mon, think, think… 

I see Sensu hit a button and watch him laugh insanely. I can barely hear him from behind this wall.

But in the end, hearing ability is the _last_ thing on my mind.

Pain beyond pain.

Slaughter beyond slaughter.

Death _beyond_ death. A part of me is being shredded away. _Is this…is this what the limbo is? Where your soul is stripped away?_

Then, it stops as quickly as is came.

I pant hard, feeling all of the final reserves of my Spirit and Demon Energy seep away into the tubes. I pant hard, and groan. That hurt so bad…

Sensu looks more gleeful than I have ever seen him. "Idiot. Stepping right into the machine too… Did you think that merely chaining me in a bit of power was going to stop the very conqueror of Enma himself?"

I give what I hope is a death glare to top all death glares. I am so un-fucking-believably stupid. How did I overlook that? How did I ever get this overconfident?

Now, I'll pay for those mistakes with my life. My dad, too.

He looks at the panel, and a frown crosses his white face. "How can you both be that drained already?"

"What?" He can't hear me.

"I thought you both had more power than that. Strange. I guess I really _will_ have to use your life power."

"WHAT? NO!" Still not loud enough to be heard.

"Both of your spirit energies and powers are nearly gone. At least you two are pretty young and have a strong life force as well. That'll be more than enough. What fine minions the two of you would have made. But once the humans crumble, then it won't matter anyway."

I shout to be heard behind the thick glass, "WHY? WHY IS KILLING THE HUMANS EVEN NECESSARY!" There. I think he finally heard me.

"The Spirit World and Human World balance each other, as the Demon World and the Nether World balance each other. Without that balance, the spirit world tips right over."

I gasp. That makes so much sense. Of course. Two halves can't be separated, like a body and a soul for too long. Same with the spirit and human world. Without the human world…Sensu won't even have to try to destroy the spirit world. It'll be done for him.

"So, to business…" He flips the knob and prepares to hit the button that will set me aflame for sure. What did I do to deserve this?

Only option… 

Just as I feel a twinge of fiery agony, I astro-project my soul, the very life energy that he desires. In ghost form, I stare down at my now limp body. I am sickened. Damn, do I really look that beat up? I'm frickin covered in blood! I inspect my broken pelvis. It looks like my right hip and knee are totally smashed, as well as several of my ribs. Ouch. And my spine…let's just say it don't look too good for Olympic track. Wow, that came out really cynical. The odd thing is that it's like watching a movie. I feel no attachment to that body. I don't care that I'll never be able to walk again.

I see great big Sensu look around, puzzled, and then a look of dawning comprehension appears on his face, which then turns to rage. He switches off the machine and gazes at our mangled bodies.

"This is what you did before, isn't it?" He growls. He makes a strange noise like the kind in sci-fi movies, that weird warble, and goes limp like me, falling right on his back.

Oh no.

He didn't…he wouldn't…

I dodge an energy blast from behind me. I turn quickly and see Sensu in his original form, in all his might and deep voice, only spiritual like me. Only, instead of calm and content, he looks murderous. Hatred blazes in the cold eyes.

"You've exhausted my patience. Get back to your body or be dragged there. Your decision, bitch, the easy way or the hard way." He fires more Demon Energy at me. I dodge the beams, feeling strange gliding around the air.

"Drag me." But that's a pretty big bark coming from a small dog. I'm out of Spirit Energy…and Demon Energy too. I need my father. Much as I hate him for what he did, he is my last hope. Our combined forces might pull this off. But Sensu is the only one who knows how to open the door to his cage!

I just got a plan! RUN! Then I can get a BETTER plan! RUN FASTER!

I dart this way and that, trying to confuse Sensu. I run to the right – to the left, feeling no pain in soaring through the air. I left my pain behind in the material world. Had I not been chased by an evil demon that will kill me in two seconds, I would have been positively content.

"ARGH!" He yells, and starts firing much greater red blasts at me.

I dodge and dodge, getting more and more tired. No…I have to keep going…

But I can't. My stamina dies suddenly, and finally, the inevitable comes to pass. "AUGH!" I try to scream as I'm hit, but it dies on it's way up my throat.

I fall onto the air with a crash, as if it were solid. I feel my left leg vaguely, though it seems to be asleep. It feels kinda painful, too, though the pain seems like it's a zillion miles away. I hear Sensu come up behind me. The world shoots in and out of focus. Tears pour down my face as I try to escape the pain.

"The hard way, then. Good. It's more fun that way." He looms behind me.

I'm too tired to answer. I'm so done it's crazy. There's no hope left.

"Actually, no. Go back to your body _yourself_. Give up. Accept your loss with your remaining dignity."

I groan, and make my way back to my body slowly to give myself further thinking time. I have no intention of going back just yet. But what can be done? No EnergyNo Hope. I'm out of options. I need my body for my demon power, because the demon is in my blood, not my soul. Plus, I have barely any of it left. And as for the accessible spirit power—it'll take me _weeks_ to replenish it all.

If I try to go to my body for demon power, then I'll do exactly what Sensu wants. So I need my demon energies, if I even have any left, but I can't use them, and that's what fuels the panther, the fireballs, and the camouflage. The only thing my Spirit Energy alone can do is my bubble, and I don't want to find out if he really _can_ break through it or not.

It's over. I can still hear him laughing. I try to hammer the awful phrase into my brain. I've failed. I've failed. I've failed. I've failed. I've failed…

There's my body. My dad's beaten-up body. And…Sensu's unconscious body? An idea starts to form. Possession…

_NO! Don't think about it. Think about failing. I've failed. I've failed. I've failed…_I crawl still towards Sensu's lifeless body. It actually works. Sensu can't see the idea in my mind. _I've failed, I've failed, I've failed…_ Edging slowly…

Suddenly, I'm right above Sensu's huge body. In a fraction of a second, I dive, an awful, stomach-lurching drop. I hear Sensu's little inhaled _hah_ of surprise, and he races me for the unspoken prize. Almost there…

I enter a dark space, and then I open my eyes. I MADE IT! I get myself up, marveling at the stink of this body. I stare at the control panel, so many miles below me, flipping through his memories.

My mind hits what I'm looking for. Sensu's mind is a whole library of codes for this machine. Including the very one I need. I lean down, hating my bloody white hands, and start turning dials into the impossible code Sensu's mind has memorized. I must have hit 40 buttons, all in a specific sequence.

Finally, I press the big red button that almost killed me for the final touch. I can't even hear Sensu above me. Yes. He's given up now.

The magical happens.

The rather small door to my father's dome slides down and out of sight noiselessly. So does my dome's door. I still look really creepy. With all the blood on me, I look authentically dead. Right now, I would make a great Halloween costume. Only, I'm not wearing a costume. That's the scary part.

I press the red button again. There is a considerable rumble, and the glow on my father's chains dims and then completely fizzles out. My father, with difficulty, breaks his now-weakened binds with very skinny arms. As soon as I'm sure that he's free, I project myself out of this temporary host body. I float towards my own body.

But when I try to re-enter my body, I get a real surprise. An invisible barrier separates me from it. It's like trying to walk through glass. That's never happened before. What's wrong? I press myself against the wall. What's wrong? I hammer on it, and I get a ringing pain in my hands.

Oh no. Sensu _wouldn't…_you know, I seem to have real trouble determining what Sensu will and will not do.

My body's eyes open, and no longer green. They are black.

Noooooooo. Noooooooo. How can this be happening?

My body breaks her binds too. She steps out, and smiles at me. I gasp. Sensu took me over.

I can't scream as a ghost. I go back into Sensu's body, and stand up in it, glaring at the two of them. "Give me back my body!" I yell, a threatening roar. I'm pretty impressed at how much taller I am now than the humans.

My body smiles. "Now I have your autograph."

He asked me for my autograph in the beginning. So…what is that supposed to mean _now_? What did he do to me?

I hear a thump behind me, and see my father. I jump out of the way just in time as his fist makes contact with the control panel, cracking it. I yell at him that I'm really Katrina.

I don't think he really cares. Is that death I see in his eyes? "DIE!" I thought as much.

"No! Dad, it's not what you think…!" I easily block all of his punches with Sensu's extreme knowledge of martial arts. Wow. This body is extremely strong.

"DIE!"

"Get him, Dad!" My body yells.

He pauses, but goes back to trying to pummel me. He really doesn't get it, does he? Moron! I keep blocking, again and again. I refuse to attack my dad. He's so weak. Even though I could knock him right off right now if I wanted. This could be my chance at revenge for him. One little whack upside the head…and that wouldn't be all of it.

No. I am better than that. For now, I think he's suffered enough. I eye all of the scars on his face, and how skinny he is. Poor guy. He's barely alive. I can punish him later. His unskilled punches get weaker and weaker, until he's gasping for breath. I easily pick him up by the wrists as he were a feather and hold him there in my left hand, so I can turn my attention back to my body.

I glare at HER, and Katrina just smiles at me. I need to get Sensu out of my body. '_Now I have your autograph…'_ What did he mean? OH GOD! What if he's destroying me as we speak?

Meanwhile, my dad somehow worms his way out of my stronghold and goes back to punching and, oh look, now he's kicking too. I continue to block without ruffling a hair on my head. My dad yells in frustration. Wow, this is pathetically easy. I could learn a lot from Sensu, martially.

How do I get my body back? Isn't there some kind of attack that could help?

Nothing Genkai taught me. She showed me that, as of now, no one had ever figured out how to possess an already-possessed body. That means, I can't get him until he leaves my body.

Which will be never. Which means, I'll be forced to kill my dad, eventually, and during that, my body will escape, masquerading as me, and potentially destroying everyone I love.

And I'll die a wicked demon. None of my friends or family will ever know who I am.

I stare at my body. She winks at me. I almost start crying. Me, the great Sensu…crying. How am I supposed to get him out of me?

Finally, I get careless and my dad lands a punch under my right eye. I yell and slam him backwards in the gut out of defense with my forearm. Blood pours out of his mouth and he flies back about ten feet and lands with a crunch, where he lies, motionless.

I didn't mean for that to happen, but I just don't care. He's not on my priority list. I turn away from him and back to my body. I stomp towards her, and Sensu suddenly understands the position he's in. He's doomed to fighting himself, the epitome of demon perfection. It hits me suddenly. He created powerful demon perfection, but he never learned how to defeat it. He never needed to. And now he does.

I smirk. _I'm going to enjoy being the tough one now. _

Her eyes widen, and Katrina runs away from me, understandably. Wait, how is my body walking, anyway, let alone running? Wasn't my spine snapped?

I chase, and for once, I actually am thankful for this body's speed. I easily catch up with Katrina and grab her around the waist. I enlarge myself tenfold, and allow one hand to completely cover her body. Katrina struggles to no avail.

"Get out of my body! NOW!" I yell at Katrina.

"No!" She actually bites my finger.

I flick her. How can I get him out?

I get a huge idea. Maybe I could suck Sensu's life power out of my body by putting Katrina in the cage?

No, forget it. I'd destroy my body and the human world with that energy.

"………………………"

Now I have NO ideas. Oh, come on, there must be something! Maybe Sensu's power can suck out a spirit? Maybe? No, not that I can think of…then, I remember one of Sensu's other powers. He can read minds. Maybe Sensu's soul in my body knows something that I don't about this spirit exorcism. It's worth a shot.

I stare at Katrina's skull, and somehow, it works. I can read several jumbled up thoughts. I frantically search for something that could help me, and then I see a thought, written so clearly in the back of Sensu's mind.

_There's no way she knows the spirit drain. She's too young._

_Hallelujah_ plays in my mind.

That attack that Botan taught me! She said it would exorcise any spirit or…something else that I forget. Anyway, that means I really _can_ exorcise Sensu, right?

I don't even hear my dad come up behind me for an ambush. He just yells, "Get your filthy hands off of my daughter!" Shocked from the sheer volume, I slip up and my dad gets me hard with a powerful right hook. Augh! His blows are deadly if I let them hit. And it doesn't even matter if I'm in the wrong body. I'll still die if the body dies.

He hits me again, and blood rains into my eyes. I roar and drop my guard to focus on the sacred words that will get Sensu out of my body, dropping Katrina in the process. She kicks me. Now I have both my dad and Katrina on me.

"Son-" Wham.

"RAO-" Wham.

God, this hurts, and I'm a hugely powerful demon. "Li-" OW!

"Te-" FUCK!

"Noi-" A huge kick.

"FAM-" AUGH! Another punch to my face!

"(Cough)—Yyawk." Blood pours from this nose.

They stop momentarily, wondering what's happening. One more word…

"KAN!" I point my/Sensu's finger at my body. Sensu-Katrina jumps.

I feel my spirit shoot out of this finger, hurling at my body. I can tell Sensu in my body senses me, but he can't get out of the way of a pure spirit. I am shot into my head, even though this violates most of Spirit Laws concerning astro-projection. God, if Botan hadn't taught me this one, I don't know what I'd do.

Then, I enter the darkness that is my head, and I wake up, opening my eyes and I realize I was on the floor. I get up, experiencing a wave of dizziness.

I can see my demon aura teeming with blue energy. It was because Sensu possessed me. I grew 2 inches when Genkai was controlling me. Sensu gave me all this power. And…he healed me a little in the process. I can walk again. That was why I saw myself running.

I hear a noise from behind me. The rightful Sensu has reclaimed his body and is shouting things in demon tongue at us, which I can assume do not include, "I love you." Judging by my father's look, I can tell that he understands perfectly well what he's saying. Also, Sensu can barely see because of all the wounds I let my dad inflict on him. For now, he's subdued until he can get the blood out of his eyes. I smile. He knows he can't take us both on. And so do I.

Now I know what I have to do. I can do _nothing_. But my dad can make a difference. He is a full-blooded demon. And he's my father.

Without hesitation, I grab my father's hand and start to channel all of the power Sensu gave me into him as fast as I can. My dad almost wrenches his hand away at the pain of so much power, but relaxes in the end. Slowly, my power leaves, and I get weaker and weaker, while he straightens and his skinny body inflates, and soft muscles become hard again.

But naturally, Sensu at the last minute realizes what's happening, and screams in a panic. He runs toward me, slamming into me with all the power he's got. I gasp, my grip on my father breaks, and I hit the cage's left dome behind me. I slide down it slowly, dilating in and out of consciousness again. But I won't fall asleep. I refuse to. I don't care how weak I am, or how much I want to. I have to see this end the way it was destined to.

The good guy always wins. This is how it should be. And this is how it _will_ end.

Vaguely, I see a very blurry Sensu. He tries to freeze the time of my father like he did twice to me, but my father puts up such a strong golden shield that it makes my bubble look like the thickness of tissue paper. The attack bounces right off, and ricochets back into Sensu, leaving a smoking hole in his gut, and he gets a taste of his own medicine and freezes. Sensu watches my dad in horror, frozen in a pose like that of an opera singer. Good. My power indeed gave my dad everything he needed to finish this.

My dad just readies a huge ball of yellow-orange energy, gathering in power each second. A whirring noise starts up.

I hear in my head, in a voice of pure hatred, "Katrina, just remember, _I'll always have that autograph_. You know what that means."

_Stop talking to me._ I hiss in my head, and close my mind. But a huge headache grows in my head. Something in my head feels kind of different. He did something to me. I can _feel_ it.

"Die, scum."

My father's cold voice sets off many things.

My dad's fireball gains power sixteenfold, and its diameter is actually wider than Sensu. It shoots point-blank out at Sensu, who still cannot move because of his own spell. Sensu and his huge body disintegrate into a pile of smelly ash and flame. The power echoes through the room.

I smile, and literally conk out. _We did it…_

What I think must be seconds later, my dad gives what little of his power remains to me. My aura becomes brighter, and I slowly gain back my stature, and stand, somehow. My dad goes over and offers me his hand, but I stand up on my own, only to get my elbow grazed by a rock of a falling ceiling. All that power must have weakened the entire building thoroughly, or something. I rub the cut elbow furiously.

My father looks at me and twitches his arms as though he wants to hug me, but decides against it. That's fine with me. I wouldn't have let him anyway. "Katrina…I—" He pauses. "The ceiling does indeed seem to be falling." He says calmly.

"Yes," I agree. I start to leave, but my eyes fall on the dead Lahri in spite of myself.

He looks and sees where my eyes are focused. "I'll get her. Now go."

"Okay." I run out of the long room, to find that it is much shorter than I initially thought it was. It was probably just an illusion my own fear or Sensu constructed for me.

I run down the hall to the door and kick it hard to bust it open. The dimension hole is gone, probably because of Sensu's death. They are all there; Botan, Touya, Kurama, and Hiei. They all look worried rather than glad, and they also look considerably more battered than when I left them last. I am such a sight they have every right to be concerned. I hope my robe doesn't look _too_ red and wet.

"KA—TRI—NA!" Yells my brother. "I TOLD YOU TO STAY THERE!"

"And I did _not_ stay there. What's your point?" I ask waspishly. I am not going to tolerate this scolding right now.

Botan puts a hand over his mouth. "Katrina, we had to face some real reinforcements back there, demons of all sorts, so we couldn't get to you in time. We didn't have the chance to even _look_ at the dimension hole, which is—Oh God, look at you. All that blood…Are you all right? Are you about to pass out? Are you—"

"Dad's free, Sensu's gone," I say shortly, speaking very fast. "The top floor is collapsing and eventually all the other layers too, right down to this basement."

Kurama's eyes widen, and immediately, he starts to issue orders. "Okay. Touya, Hiei, and I will go get the prisoners out of their respective closets. Botan, just get out on your paddle—"

"NO PADDLE ANYMORE, REMEMBER?"

"On foot, then, go to warn the Spirit World of any repercussions. Katrina, get Jin and Mie."

Kurama avoids eye contact with me, and surprisingly, he handles himself very well, breathing deeply. We all run up the dark hallway, me at the very end of the line. As soon as we thrust open the door to Mie's room and open the door, the others run out the other side, to their various assigned destinations. I search for Jin, and my eyes land on spiky redhead in a toga in a corner. It's him, with Mie's head in his lap. She's no longer screaming. Her eyes are open and staring, like a blank slate. There is no longer a pupil. Just brown pits. Cloudy, mud brown circles.

"JIN!" I yell, and he doesn't seem to hear me.

I move closer to yell again, and notice her, in a very strange pose, as though… "Why does she look like that?"

As he upturns his head, I can see that his usually happy blue eyes are filled with pain. "I-don't know. I'm really worried about her. She's not responding to anything—"

At that precise moment, rocks start to fall from this one's ceiling too. Jin easily protects himself with a wind-shield like an umbrella over his head, but I have to dodge, in my beaten up state. At this point, my life is at stake. I so do not care what the hell he thinks right now. "MIE WILL BE FINE! SHE'S PROBABLY JUST TIRED OUT! NOW LET'S GO!"

"But—"

"DO YOU _WANT_ TO GET SQUASHED? DO YOU NOT SEE THE ROCKS FALLING ALL AROUND YOU? COME _HERE_ IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE AT ALL!"

"You spit on me." He mutters. He picks up Mie's limp form and conjures up a windstorm for us to fly in. I'm lifted off the ground by about three inches, and we speed ahead. The rocks are deflected off the top of the tornado.

After the passage directly before the room of Rhiharl, I can't believe it when we finally make it to the main floor. At this point, just when I start to relax, Jin conveniently runs out of energy and drops his windshield. After much scrabbling, bumping, panicking, and banging into each other, we get to the now-evacuated lobby. We hear more and more crashing from above, and watch support beams around us crumble as we run. Finding the wind for the final sprint, getting more and more tired, we find the entrance and charge at it. Every now and then we have to dodge the odd plank or rock from above, which doesn't help. This is how much God loves me, you know? Sends an evil demon after my blood and then sends rocks from "above" to try to crush me.

At least the demon guards seem to have all fled the collapsing building. Good. It causes less problems for us.

Jin, Mie, and I make it down to the area of the lobby right next to the door, where we meet up with Kurama piggybacking a snoozing Genkai, Touya supporting a partly conscious Yusuke by the arm, and Hiei somehow managing the giant sleeping Kuwabara, although not easily. Without saying anything, we all run out the doors and into freedom. Smelly, demon-infected freedom.

Solid, real freedom.

Pure freedom.

Life.

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A/N Hope you enjoyed. **Please make your review encompass the entire fight scene!** Tell me what you guys all thunked about it!


	66. Chapter 64 END

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH! Katrina is mine and so is the storyline!

**Chapter 64: The End?**

I pant, watching the building collapse. A sudden thought occurs to me. "Did Botan get out all right?"

"Yes, we saw her out through a window, and as she has excellent navigation, she'll be fine."

"Katrina, what about your father?"

"He's alive. Or he was. He wanted to shut down the machinery, so he stayed behind. I don't know how he is now. Don't really care. He's probably alive, though." It's a somewhat-hope.

"I imagine so," said Kurama. "He likes late dramatic appearances. What about Lahri? She didn't…"

I sigh. "That girl was not Lahri. She was Beauty."

"What?"

"Beauty was just possessing a dead human's body, which she dubbed Lahri. But…she's dead now. It's all okay." It's not okay. But I can't tell him that now, can I?

Kurama whistles. "We can discuss this later, at the headquarters, if there are any left." He sees my questioning look. "They were attacked a few hours ago. But, now that the leader is gone, they should be crushed by now."

"Yes," says Hiei in a strained sort of voice. "Now then, can someone help me get this goon off me before my spine buckles?" He asks, gesturing to Kuwabara.

Kurama puts down Genkai, and helps him out. I look away, and I notice Jin is standing by himself, holding Mie. I go over to talk to him.

"She still isn't responding. She's alive, but only just."

"As you said, it was her choice, Jin." I say, trying to comfort him.

He just stares at her body. "I wonder…I just wonder what I did to make her feel so much…_hatred._"

"She was corrupted. It wasn't your fault. A little jealousy did that to her."

"I should have…I should have let her join the Shinobi…" His voice wavers on the last word. I leave, to give him time to cry. I get the feeling he wants to be alone.

So I walk over to the ruined building, and start peeling apart boards, for any remnant of my dad. I can't bear to wonder what happened the rest of my life, despite what I just said.

My headache worsens as I work. What is wrong with this? I was just completely healed, and I still have a headache. I feel…cold. Cold, inside. I shiver. This never happened before. It…it feels…emptier.

I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I jump a foot in my air. It's my dad. The feeling of chill recedes into me, leaving me warm again. It's like I just absorbed an ice cube.

I shake his hand off. He simply says, "It will never be over."

I just sigh.

"As Sensu said, it can never be destroyed. It will move on to more and more hosts. The battle will never end. We can prevent it from winning, but we ourselves cannot win."

I sigh again. "_Did_ we win?"

"Yes. For the time being, we beat evil."

"Are we all okay?" I suddenly remember the autograph, and I change my question to, "Am I okay?"

"He was probably just bluffing. He just wanted to do some last thing to scare you."

"Good. I needed to hear that from someone." I push past him, but he catches me. "Here is your friend." He holds out the body of Lahri.

I stare at her eyes, eyes that will never come out of the lids again. I glare at her body, trying so hard but failing to hate her. I can't believe I didn't figure it out—her identity, her motives, her _lie_. Why couldn't I see? Did some part of me _want_ to believe in her good side? Did I deliberately overlook the wicked demon parasite inside her because I felt some kind of…of _affection_ for this girl?

I want to believe it's preposterous, but I can't lie to myself any longer. In my mind, I know it's true—every bit of it. Beauty's invented personality, Lahri, was just like mine. I always thought of her as my opposite, but yet, we were really exactly the same. We were both determined, shrewd, sarcastic, strong, and willing to do anything for any purpose. My subconscious really saw her as a kind of…friend. I didn't want to see the evil, so I didn't see it. Could I have saved Lahri if I weren't so incredibly naïve and sentimental? Could I have saved myself from watching her die?

And the horrible thing is, it was all a lie. Lahri herself was nothing more than a character created by evil. Evil isn't always obvious. Evil itself was just like me. I was that attached to something as transparent as air.

I break down, despite everything I did to stop it. "Why should I feel this way? There never was a Lahri. She was a total act." I scrub away the tears in rage. "I shouldn't care. I shouldn't. She was not my…friend." The words fly out before I can stop them.

He looks sad, but then his mouth hardens, and using his power, he burns her. I watch those eyes shrivel up into a fine ash, which starts to fall like sand through his thick fingers.

"Why did you do that!" I ask in shock, watching her ashes fall. This is too much. I just want to run away from everything. It's all _too_ _much_.

He adjusts his thin black clothes. "She was never there. She must be forgotten, for this event to be forgotten. Do not mourn for her."

"I—I just really…"

"Forget about this character. I know you can. You're my daughter."

At this point, the shock wears away, re-exposing my rage towards him. "Yeah, it must not be hard. You forgot about your entire family, why can't I forget about Lahri just as fast?"

He flinches as though I threw something at him. "I left you all to help save the world from Tigoro."

"I don't want to hear it." I shove past him, but he grabs my shoulders.

"What? What, damn it?" I half-shriek. "Can't this wait?"

"No. This…is really important. Do you want me to live with you when you get back to the Spirit World? Answer honestly."

I think, then say quite clearly with all disregard for politeness, "No. My mom and I are not ready for you, and we won't be for a long time. That is my honest thought. I cannot forgive what you did to my mother and I, no matter what the reason. You _took_ my _brother_ so you could—so you could use him as some kind of demon warrior. Why? He wasn't even your biological son!"

"I needed help. Shuuichi was the most obvious choice. The world came before my family."

My distaste in him turns to hate in that instant, and I fire off, "_You_ _coldhearted_ _scumbag_. You mean that _you_ came before Mom. Do you have any idea what taking him did to us? Mom still thinks about her son, and she'll never see him again, now that he's a part of Team Urameshi! Or did you only think of yourself back then, too? Forget it. Where you're concerned, you are not my father. I—I never even want to see you again." Some part of me is dying at these words, but I said I wasn't going to lie to myself anymore. This is what I want. And this—this is what he deserves.

He bows his head in a defeated way. "I respect your decision. I do not deny what I did to my family."

I bow quickly, for some reason, and go past him successfully, but I stop. "I—" Damnit, I have to say it. "I'm…sorry. For everything you went through."

"I'm sorry that you can't forgive an old man's mistake."

My heart wrenches, and my eyes feel with tears. I look away quickly. No. This is _not_ what I want. I didn't want things to go this way. This is what he deserves, but it's not what I want. I want my family to be whole again. How I wish we _could._

But I can never get what I want. We can never be a family ever again. Not after all that's happened. He made his decision 14 years ago. And I just made mine.

All torn up inside, I yell to the rest savagely, "Well, let's go already!"

Jin conjures up a windstorm for quick travel.

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Back in Koenma's office, I have been supplied with my spare school uniform and I'm all clean. Yukina worked wonders on my body, and now I feel fine in body, if not in spirit, which feels like it was ravaged by a bear.

I have just finished telling everyone every minute detail of the battle. It's a day after we got back, because last night, since Jin was so tired, it was late in the night when we were blown in. I had to sleep in the hospital section, with Yukina and Keiko hovering over not only me but Mie, Genkai, Yusuke, and Kuwabara all night.

Even though I have relieved myself of the burden, I feel strangely heavy as I leave. I guess I sort of hoped that this would all work out. But happy endings are false. They never happen.

On the good side, Genkai, Yusuke, and Kuwabara all healed perfectly fine.

But…as for Mie…Koenma said that she definitely could not recover from such huge mental strain. For once he was right. She died last night, and that's one of the reasons that Jin decided to leave with Touya for the Shin Obi again. Jin said he missed the adventure the Shinobi had in store for him, but I really think that it's meant as a last tribute to Mie, who was never strong enough to join. She really meant a lot to him. I no longer feel hatred for her. I just…pity her. Her family, her insecurity, her anger, her jealousy, everything. Maybe it is good that she's dead, in a way. She can no longer suffer.

I walk out, and quietly enter her room. My room. Keiko's room.

Keiko has been sitting in her bed, eyes very bloodshot. When she sees me, she gestures to Mie's dead body, without saying a word. Mie's death has hit her hard. It has hit everyone hard. She…it just wasn't fair to her. She could have changed so much, and Sensu took it all from her.

I stare down at the small figure, lying perfectly straight in the bed. I feel a small twinge of rage and pain, but it's very small. I'm not sure if I wanted her to live or not. When I said goodbye to her at school when it was time for us to leave for the portal in our two separate ways, her with Botan, me with Hiei, I had no idea I was truly saying goodbye to Mie forever. Rhiharl corrupted her in the spirit world. If I had only realized her corruption…I might have been able to stop it. That's the source of most of my sadness – my own stupidity. If only I had seen! She wouldn't be dead.

I need to see her again. I need to say I'm sorry. Even if she can't hear me, I need to say it.

I dive my spirit into her head. I swim through the empty walls, now not pulsing with life. I need to get to the soul room. Maybe there's some remnant of her.

It's probably a false hope, but maybe…

It takes forever. I'm anticipating it too much. I travel down long dark passages. No memories litter the halls. There's no throb of life in the brain. And it's very cold.

Finally, I see the room. I pass through it. It's so dark. And cold. I see or hear no one, and feel crushing disappointment. I thought for a moment I could talk to her…

But then, I hear an echoing voice of Mie.

"Katrina?" 

I jump. "Mie?"

"_Wow, hi! I didn't think you'd actually come!"_

"What? Why?"

"_I thought you were with Keiko._" I can catch a snobbish air in her voice.

I growl into the darkness. "Shut up. I already told you—"

She takes a deep breath. "_I…I know. I'm sorry…I'm just having a hard time accepting all this. I don't know…why me?"_

I sigh. "It's…it's in the past. Don't think about it. Mie…" I wonder if she knows. "Mie. Listen to me. You're…you're kind of…well, _dead_."

"_I know that! Thanks, though. But only in a sense."_

"Either you're dead or you aren't!"

"_It's not that simple, damn it! Why do you sound so upset about it?"_

"Sorry. That came out wrong. I meant…why are you still here?"

"_Oh, yeah. I was just waiting to give messages to the first person I saw. I-I wanted…you to know…you were always my best friend."_

I swallow hard. I won't cry for her. She's alive. "How ARE you even here, if you're dead?"

"_I'm not dead, per say!"_

"What_?"_

"_I'm alive…somewhere. I'm just in a really dark place in my mind. When I tried to fight Sensu out of my mind, he did something to me before leaving. And now, the corruption traps me here. I already tried to escape. But I keep getting more and more tired. Now, I know why." _

"What does that mean? Can't I break you out?"

"_No, I have to do it. Not even you can erase insanity. This is one of those things that I know. I'm going to sleep for a very long time to get back the strength to break this prison."_

"How long?"

"_Seventy years, maybe."_

My heart breaks for her. "Seventy years?"

"_I will seem dead, but I'm not. Don't let them burn me. And my other message was to tell Jin that…I love him._"

"Okay."

"_And I'm sorry for all the hell I put you guys through."_ She adds quickly. She always _was_ bad at apologies.

"That wasn't your fault. Mie, listen, sometimes…sometimes we _need_ to give people hell. You were no different. It's called _puberty._"

I hear a little laugh. "_Thank you_." I see a shadow of her face out of nowhere, smiling for once. "_Thank you all so much._" The vision fades.

"Goodbye, Mie," I whisper. NO! I will not cry!

Dejected, I reenter my crumpled body, to find Keiko shaking me.

"What happened? Bitch, don't DO that!"

"I…I just wanted to se if Mie was still in her mind."

She gives me a questioning look. "I thought you'd just passed out or something. Was she there, by any chance?"

I look down at Mie and sigh. "No. She…wasn't. Can you tell Koenma not to burn her though? It…has sentimental reasons."

"Okay." She wipes her eyes and leaves the room. "Everyone else wants the exact same thing." She calls. "She doesn't deserve to be cremated."

Barely hearing Keiko, I continue staring at Mie. She really will come back.

I won't be alive when she does, but she will come back.

I smile shakily at her small body. If hope could be a person, it would be her. She's dead, and she's still going to try to come back to life. That takes a kind of courage stronger than the courage needed to fight the most powerful demon of them all.

And I know she won't let us down.

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Two days later…as Katrina wakes up…

I hear my dad walk past as I wake up, and feel a surge of anger, and pain, and self-rage. I sigh. I've given up on thinking about him. My mind is so deadlocked. What I want is also what I dread. His coming home. I'm completely at a very painful standstill. It's eating me up, so I'm refusing to consider it.

Again, my mind settles around to Mie and Lahri both. I don't know what to make of this feeling. As my dad said, I'll just have to forget about it. I'm glad he cremated Lahri. Now I can forget in time. I can grow. I can heal around the gash. And as for Mie…her memory just makes me smile. She'll come back one day. She is not gone. I'll see her again…when I'm ninety.

I will not let sadness about them all take me down. Not today. This is my last day here.

I get up and dress quickly, and charge out of my room and into Jin's across the hallway. I need to pass on Mie's message.

I'm surprised to see that Touya is in there with him. They're both all dressed, and the window is opened.

"Shhh." Hisses Jin when he sees me. "We just…want to leave discreetly."

"But this is really important." I tell him Mie's message. His eyes overflow instantly, and he jumps out the window with Touya without a word to anyone, except they both wave to me. I watch them disappear into the much thinner fog on their journey to God-knows-where.

The Spirit World is not _totally_ empty of green fog, but it will be in several short weeks. The Spirit Army or whatever is going to tackle the remaining demons that are indirectly producing it. The good guys recognize that there will be another Sensu born from that evil shadow, which I am glad about. Next time, we will be prepared. And also, Kurama, my dad, Hiei, Kuwabara, and Genkai are going to go back to fighting demon scum, and Yukina will be coming along to serve as their healer. They can forgive my dad a lot easier than I can, as they're letting him come. That's one reason why I'm not going with them.

But also, I need to see my mom again. Keiko and I will go back to the real world for the time being, and Botan will go back to the position of Not-So-Grim Reaper. For Keiko and I to get to the Spirit World, Hiei is going to take us down through another portal, ignoring my protests about my feelings for portals. They must be doing it solely to spite me.

And we all decided as a group that it would be better in the meantime for my mom not to know anything about my dad initially, or my brother either. I'm going to tell her slowly about Spirit World crap, and then I'll tell her about them. And I am not becoming Spirit Detective; they seem to have finally accepted that. Yusuke can keep his job. We're both happy about that.

Then is my brother's goodbye. Kurama hugs me outright, and leads me into a corner to talk to me, away from everyone else, preparing for a huge speech.

"Katrina…"

"You know what, save it, you liar."

"What?" He asks, startled.

"Don't pretend like you don't know about this little secret."

"What little secret?" But I notice he has a particularly big sweatdrop clinging to his hair.

"You tell me what your little secret is." I glare.

He sighs dejectedly. "I—I wanted to tell you before…I thought you could accept me better if you didn't know…Katrina, sexual orientation isn't that big of a deal—it's true I like both sexes, but I hope you can see past that—"

"WHAT? Kurama, are you—a bi? I was just talking about the fact that you're my half brother!" I start to get hives on my face. Apparently I have bi-phobia as well as homophobia. I back up a little.

His mouth drops open, and he starts coughing really hard. Wow. Kurama actually slipped up. This should be documented in history, under subtitle AMAZING BLUNDERS.

"Which guy do you like?" Now it all makes sense. The flower-power, the pink suit, the long hair, the long legs, the girly face. "Actually, no, never mind. That's your business. I don't care that you're a bi. It's perfectly all right with me." But, against my will, I start to back away even more, feeling…fear. Real, horrid fear of my own brother who helped me through this. Oh, why did I have to be homophobic?

He sighs in relief, not seeming to notice the fact that I'm about to wet myself. Or maybe he's just politely ignoring it. Thank you, Kurama.

"Now, I was going to yell at you, but now I don't have the heart to. I'll just ask you nicely. Why did you tell me my dad was your dad?"

"Uh…"

"Why? I need to know! Was I not mature enough?" I feel like I'm going to start crying any second. Too much has happened. I don't need him lying to me.

He takes me into a nearby room and shuts the door. "Katrina, listen, I know that this is probably eating you up, what with everything else…"

"Yes, it is!"

He looks at me sadly. "That was why I didn't tell you."

"Huh?" I back away more.

"I thought you wouldn't accept me because you're a homophobe, and I guess I was right."

Damn it, he DID notice my fear! "Why are you so worried about what I think of you?" I back away further. Man, I hate myself.

"You're my sister, Kat. I wanted to seem like the perfect person to you. I had to make you trust me early on, so you'd be easier to handle."

"What? That's not true!" Hah. I'm shriveling up out of fear as we speak. I'm the worst liar ever.

"Isn't it?"

I look at him closely. "No, it's not. Kurama, I'm just mad that you lied. I don't think of you as no longer a brother!"

"Well, it certainly seems like that."

"No, it's just that…" _I'm terrified of you now. Yes, Katrina, say that! Go on!_

"Katrina, you can admit it."

"YOU HAVE IT ALL WRONG, KURAMA! WRONG! I still consider you my brother, okay? I just wanted to be able to trust you." I twitch, and walk closer. I have to get over this homophobia. I edge closer. He looks at me strangely. I inch closer and closer, and then, I wrap my arms hesitantly around his waist in the first hug I've ever given my own brother. I start quivering at the fact that I'm HUGGING a BI, but then, I suppress it into my mind viciously.

He looks very taken aback, but he hugs me back, and I let go as soon as he does. "Kurama…you're my brother, all right? That should be enough for me, and it is. I don't care that you're a—you're a—you know."

He is silent for a moment. "Want to know the other reason that I didn't tell you?"

"What?"

"I was…embarrassed."

"Embarrassed? Are you kidding?"

"Of who my real father actually is."

"Who was it? Tell me." I add as a warning.

He stares at me. "I don't know…"

"I do. Who was it?"

"Uh…well, it was…you know him…"

"Is he a human? Is he at my school? Does he look like you?"

"Very much, yes, to all of those question."

_Who is tall and has red hair at that school, then? _

Suddenly, the door pops open.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but you need to leave now, Katrina!"

She practically dies at the look on my face, but I follow her anyway. Ugh. She never did have a sense of timing.

55555555555

Then come all the goodbyes. They are all very painful, but natural. I always expected them sometime, and now is that time. Yukina starts crying, while Yusuke and Kuwabara say goodbye pretty easily. (They healed perfectly fine, thank god, after starving for so many days). Koenma smiles at me at every given chance. Kurama maintains a safe distance so I can't ask who his dad is (damn it!). Genkai tells me she enjoyed training me, as well as a final half smile, which is big, major stuff coming from her, and Botan goes crazy and hugs and swings and jumps – all carrying me, so it's more like a strangulation than a sign of friendship. And she tells me that she is regaining her old self, and is re-imprisoning all of the memories she hates. I shouldn't be glad for it happening all over again, but I am. Now I don't have anything on my mind. Right?

The most painful is the one from my father. He simply bows to me, and I do the same. He smiles a little, but I can't manage one. Part of me is sad that neither my half_-_brother nor my father will ever truly be coming home, but there's nothing that can be done to stop it. I think it's probably better this way. My mom would probably go into cardiac arrest if I brought them home. I know I would.

I finally give up and ask. "Tatewaki, who is my brother's real dad? I know you're not. Sensu told me. I was a bit _surprised_ to hear that. Do you think you can clear that up for me?"

"Oh, you heard about that? Well, I guess it couldn't last forever." He kind of winces at the fact that I refuse to call him Dad to his face.

"Yes, I have. Who is he?"

"Hi, guys! I'm going to draw up the portal now, okay?" Says Botan cheerily, popping right up among us again.

I glare at her again. "Stop popping up! I was just about to ask my dad who my brother's biological dad is!"

Botan goes bright red, and starts to laugh, high-pitched and nervously. "Uh…I _don't_ think you want to know that one."

"You know what, Botan's right. None of us exactly keep in _touch_ with that man." Says my dad, also going red—well, okay, pinkish.

"Who is it already?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know. You _don't_ want to know."

"Yes I do! Who is it? PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"No." Says my dad with much formality.

And that was the end. I couldn't get another word out of them.

5555555555555

I'm not sure I'm ready when Botan gets her paddle and uses it to open a portal that is different from the one Hiei and I initially took. It's in Koenma's office, and I'm at a loss as to why we couldn't have just used that one. Koenma will not answer, so I guess it slipped his mind too. God damn that God.

Hiei shoves me down it because I was trying to get out of it at every chance.

But actually, I don't mind it so much this time. The portal is much cleaner than I remember it, (no icky fog), and Hiei gets us down in no time at all with help from his "idiosyncratic alacrity". And when we are in the real world, Keiko and I notice he has finally managed to drive a car, so when we get out of the stolen Sedan, Hiei puts on his stilts, and I walk in with him. Keiko will sneak in through the window, because since her guardian is not here to check her in, she is not technically allowed in the school yet.

Before I get inside, I start to try to talk to Hiei.

"Hiei, I've had a really great time." Well, don't I sound sweet. As if I just went to the movies with him or something. Sheesh.

"Yeah, me too."

And so ends our _long_, interesting conversation.

I walk into the principal's office with my "dad." And I see a truly horrible sight.

My mother. And she's standing next to Mr. Spinach-Jelly. Who, I've just realized, looks an awful lot like—shut up. Shut—up. There's no way in hell.

She stares, then screams, and runs to me. "YOU'RE SAFE, YOU'RE SAFE, OH, THANK YOU GOD!"

She swings me around in a semi-circle, and then growls at me. "Where were you?"

I gulp. It's going to be hard to change back to English from talking Japanese for so long. "Um, I were on wrestle trip." I say, using the first thing that pops into my head. I hope she buys it, otherwise I'm officially toast.

"Really? Because this guy says your father took you out for a vacation! Oh god, I was so worried! I thought maybe Mr. Spinacheli had taken you!"

Wait…Spinacheli? He's not my dad—NO, SHUT UP!

I hate lying, but I'm glad she's so clueless. "Oh, that principal is an idiot. C'mon, we go then. I think…you are here to get me?"

"Yes, of course! And who is this?"

Even with his stilts, he's only as tall as my mom, in all of her 5'4".

"Oh, him? He is my boyfriend, Hiei."

Instead of flipping out like I thought she would, she shrugs. "Well, nice to meet you, Hiei." In disjointed Japanese. To me she says in English, "Let's go _home_. I've _missed_ you so much!" To Spinacheli, she says loftily, "See you, Shuuichi. I hope you have a nice time here. I'm sorry for suspecting you. Good day."

"Thank you, Shiori. If there's any chance I can call you…I'd like to re—"

"No." She answers flatly. "Good day to you all."

That was awfully odd, wasn't it? First-name terms? And why does he have the first name as my brother? I must be imagining things. Maybe he wants an envelope from my mother's packaging business, and he wants to call Mom to order one. Wow, that was pathetic.

As we walk out the door, I wave at Hiei, and he smiles and waves slightly, looking amused at my broken English. I motion for him to come over, and he shakes his head fervently. Then he swivels, nearly falling over, and walks out the other entrance. Then, want to bet that he used his speed to get out? Too bad I didn't get a better goodbye. Why didn't he come closer? Shyness of my mom?

When we are almost to her car, I jump. "Mom, me say goodbye to friends before we go?"

"Oh, sure. Just make sure you are back in a half hour." She hugs me again, smushing me against her.

"Okay, bye."

I run back in school, (Hiei is nowhere to be seen), run up all the flights of stairs, and up to my dormitory. I stop outside the door. I feel a little happier.

I open the door.

Flo's eyes go as round as her face. Kanerusa could have passed for a da Vinci sculpture. Akane is speechless. Keiko grins. I guess she snuck in successfully.

Suddenly, I am engulfed by a mass of rapidly bowing girls. They are all apparently really happy to see me. When I finally ask to be given oxygen, Kanerusa asks, "What happened to you?" In a loud, squealy voice.

"Had to get a checkup." I say, with the first thing that comes into my head. Oh my god, I really _do_ suck at lying.

"For THREE MONTHS?"

Oh damn. Then, Flomiki unknowingly saves me saves me. "Hey, where's Mie?"

"…She…" I pipe up quickly. I almost forget to speak Jap.

"…Got…" Says Keiko.

"…Hit…" Me.

"…By…" Keiko.

"…A…" Me.

"…Rampaging…" Keiko.

_Rampaging? She couldn't have just said a car? _"…Rhinoceros." Me.

"Yeah, that's it!" says Keiko, putting on lots of sadness.

"Yeah, it was so tragic."

We both launch into this huge fake story about the 10,000 pound bull rhino that escaped from the Tokyo zoo, and at the end, everyone is in tears, including us. We made ourselves cry.

Once everyone has calmed down, and I can speak above Flo's nose blowing, I say, "Well guys, my mom is here to pick me up. I'm going back to the States for good."

They all gasp, bow some more (they are seriously exercising their abs today), and beg me to come back soon. I say I will once I can breathe, and with a final wave, I shut the door and run out to the parking lot. I want to go back home. I need to be away from everything for a while.

My mom smiles, and motions for me to get in the passenger seat, for us to drive to the airport. I give my large school a final look, and as we are about to pull out, Keiko runs out.

"Yes? And you are?" says my mom politely; though I can tell she is itching to go.

"Yukimura Keiko."

"Oh wow, I knew your mother! Tell her Shiori said hi, honey!" Wow. My mom has a good I'm-so-happy act. I seriously doubt she knew Keiko's mother.

"I will." She bows quickly. "Katrina left this _in our** school** dorm._" She says with emphasis, and holds out my Commir and winks at me. I roll my eyes.

I roll down the window, and take it. I jump out, hug her one last time, and go back in.

"Well, Mom, go." I sigh at the thought of leaving.

"NO! I've waited for this for too long! How was it?"

"It was nice!" We pull away from the school, and I watch it vanish.

"Did you make any friends?"

"You have _no _idea how many." I say. She really doesn't. She just sighs happily and refuses to gun the engine. "Now I am complete." She leans over and hugs me again.

I hug her back, but then I remember her first husband. Who was he? I break the hug and make direct eye contact with her.

"Mom, ask you a question?"

"Sure!"

"Why did you thinks that Mr. Spinacheli had taken me? He is not my father."

My mom goes white. "Well, he's not a very nice guy. Back then, he was a bit forward with children…" She still doesn't start up the car.

Whoa. TMI there. I remember how he used to make some perverted comments in English class. Now I see those weren't just flukes. "You were _married—_?"

"Let's not talk about the past! Katrina, how did your wrestling trip go?" She asks quickly.

"Oh, it was pretty fun…" I eagerly take up her subject change. I'm quite willing to forget what she just told me.

She finally starts up the car without me even asking her to. Apparently she wants to forget about it too.

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It's 12:02.

I'm in my bed. My nice, clean bed. All alone. Just like I wanted. Right?

Hah. Yeah right. I feel _very_ lonely.

No one to talk to or…talk to…

I guess I got used to the commotion of the Jun Ladies Boarding School. Maybe I even liked it. In any case, it was a great experience.

But now one of my friends is dead. She was dragged into it because of me…because Beauty thought she was me. That's what it comes down to, right? If she hadn't been stabbed, we wouldn't have found out she was a wind demon, and she wouldn't have ever known there were other demons like her.

And she wasn't the only to die. I am a killer of three. Beauty. Mie. Sensu. Lahri. Wait, that's four, isn't it? Damn it, even my math sucks today.

And yet, it will never be over. I became a murderer, and it will never be over. It's not fair. There'll be another Sensu one day. We won't know who it is. We'll have to fight them all over again.

I get up and stare out the window at the stars. The American stars are a lot shinier than those of Japan. I…I really like California. I really, really, really do.

Damnit, who am I kidding? I really, really, really miss Japan. Miss my friends, teachers, even the adventure. But only a little. I will never become spirit detective. I refuse to. Yusuke can _keep_ his damn post.

California just doesn't compare. And my mom couldn't be happier that I'm not going over to Japan again, since it was only a one-year thing. She wouldn't let me even if I could because she's so afraid of her first husband, Spinach-Jelly, nabbing me like Tatewaki nabbed Kurama. I wonder what both Spinach-Jelly and Tate did to her. Well, she hinted that SJ was perverted, and I guess Tatewaki was just too weird and macho for her. I could go on about that man, I really could.

And the school won't let me come back ANYWAY because I missed most of ninth grade. They figure that I wasn't serious enough about it to return.

I sigh. I'm never going to see any of my friends again, because they can't come over here. All my school friends are pretty poor. And Mom'd die if she saw Kurama, and Hiei would probably kill her anyway, and Koenma is God, and Kuwabara and Yusuke and Genkai are working for God, so they don't have a whole lot of time.

I sigh, and go over to touch my Commir. _If only I could just go back. If only I could have another adventure. If only…_

OW! "Damnit," I hiss. What the hell just burned me?

Could it be?

I pick up the Commir.

"Speaking."

"Leopard." It's Hiei. He must have heard about the whole dilemma between my brother and I. "How's the U.S.?"

I grin from ear to ear. "Hey, Shrimp."

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A/N: And so it ends. I hoped you liked this a lot, I tried not to make it have a stupid fairy tale ending. The next chapter is reviewer thanks. How do you feel about the way I wrapped this up? It's weird how it's ended though. I've been so attached to it for so long…oh well. I can still talk to you in Kara and Everything He Knew.


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